Vigilae Mortuorum
by Shamera
Summary: Sequel to Into the Cold Fire, Harry arrives home to realize that nothing is as he expects it to be. Voldemort's curse has taken ahold of the wizarding world, and no one knows how to stop it. H/D.
1. Welcome Home

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

As an early warning: this story is going to contain plenty of angst. This story _only_ contains angst... and romance. And maybe a little bit of humor- but it's all overshadowed by angst. Just so you know. Draco/Harry, Harry/Draco. Don't you love slash? ^__^ And to think, it's kinda multiple Harry-Draco... purely for the angst factor. LOL

  


**Vigilae Mortuorum**  
Chapter 1: Welcome Home  
Shamera

_Where has my heart gone?   
An uneven trade for the real world...  
I want to go back to  
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all..._  
-Evanescence, "Fields of Innocence" 

  
  
From the epilogue of **Into the Cold Fire**:

_"You were gone for nearly two months." Draco explained, a hand sneaking to brush a strand of hair away from Harry's eyes. Sharp, grey eyes stared deep into his soul. "Granger found you two days ago, lying sprawled next to where Hogwarts used to be… we were so scared when you had disappeared… thought that you were dead." Pain crept into those eyes. "But it was even worse for a moment when we found you… we thought it was proof of your death. Your corpse." _

"But I'm here." Harry murmured, trying to ease the pain away from those eyes that he loved so much. 

"Yes." Draco managed a sad smile. "We found out you were only unconscious… and sent for the doctors." He leaned to brush a kiss above Harry's brow. "You're alive… you're okay." It sounded almost as if Draco were trying to convince himself of that. 

Harry closed his eyes again, enjoying the warmth of Draco close to him. "You wouldn't believe what happened to me, Drake… I was somewhere else. In another universe." His eyes opened again, this time full of wonder as he stared at the person whom he loved so much. "My parents were alive there. Hogwarts was still standing… Voldemort was there as well, but he wasn't the threat that he is here. Everything was so beautiful, so wonderful…" 

"It sounds like heaven…" Draco muttered, his eyes distant as he stared at Harry. 

"It wasn't." Harry said. He sat up in his bed, muscles protesting every step of the way. But he kept his gaze locked into those silver eyes. "I missed you." 

If it were possible, Draco's eyes grew even sadder. "You came back from that place… for me?" 

Harry bit his bottom lip, wondering if he should answer. But he settled for a nod, "I told you a long time ago… that I couldn't live without you." 

Draco drew Harry into an awkward embrace. "But you shouldn't have said that… you shouldn't have come back…" 

Harry grew worried. "What are you talking about?" 

Draco breathed in the scent of Harry's hair, willing himself to calm down enough to let Harry understand. It wouldn't do to get hysterical when he knew that Harry wouldn't take the information well. He had to remain in control… so that he could help Harry understand. 

"I mean… that I'm dying." 

  
  


The truth was, Voldemort had died. Died when his magic was ripped from him so violently when Harry twisted both water and fire to form a new power. It was through Voldemort that the universal rip was created, and where Harry was drawn into that rip because of his mother's wish to see him. 

But Voldemort didn't die immediately. No, the heavens couldn't be so merciful. Seeing that he was to be defeated, he set a final curse onto those who fought him, to make sure that they would suffer as well, to make sure that he would go down in history as the greatest Dark Wizard of all. 

He cursed those who had fought in the Final Battle a slow and painful death, and cursed the world so that every witch and wizard alive would not be able to have children, and that no muggle would ever give birth to children with magic. 

He had cursed the world to end the lines of witches and wizards, to end all belief in magic. 

Normally, he wouldn't have the strength to do that. There was no spell powerful enough to cause the downfall of the entire wizarding world. But emotions had a strong play in any spell, and the depth of his hate couldn't be denied. The pain and torment in his own soul added to the hate and fiery determination to take revenge to those who had created this pain gave him the power to curse the world. 

He died immediately after the curse, his last _gift_ to the world. 

It was a month later before people started feeling its affects. 

Trying to rebuild their destroyed world, a temporary version of St. Mungo's was sudden crowded with witches and wizards in unease, all complaining about how they would get hot flashes… a few moments that they wouldn't remember afterward, where they loose their ability to walk or to comprehend what people were saying. They were all people who had been active in the fight against Voldemort and survive. None of them dared mention the curse that Voldemort had spoken of, because the fear was too tangible when they barely thought of it. 

A few days later the symptoms became worse- hot flashes and temporary memory losses became minutes of pain. Utter pain that left a person gasping and with tears in their eyes. There would be people who would suddenly collapse in the middle of a conversation, or start screaming in their sleep. 

A week after that… people started dying. Not everyone, and not all at once. But others started whispers… whispers of the curse that had been bestowed onto those who had fought bravely for the Light. Whispers that the Dark Lord had destroyed the future of the Wizarding World… destroyed _their_ futures. 

Some scoffed at the idea, but most panicked- knowing that if everyone in the wizarding world died and there were no more with magic to be born- they're entire civilization would be forgotten. 

This had started a movement to try and tell muggles about the wizarding world… that ended in near disaster. So select few were told… magic items were given to close friends and family who would live on, and memories were being written down. Many were donating money to build a muggle library for wizarding books, and museums of magical items that would not open until the fall of the wizarding world. Manuscripts and instructions were written for items that contained its own magic, and anything with Dark Magic was burned. The world did not have enough time to mourn for those who were dying, because they were trying to figure out a way for their memory to live on. 

If the people who fought so hard were going to die… they weren't going to be forgotten. 

Magic would not disappear as long as there are those who believe in it, people murmured. 

So while death rates grew higher, those across the world grew more determined. They would not lose to Voldemort, would not ever give up hope as long as there was something to believe in. 

The war was over, and they had won… and lost. 

  
  


"Stop it." Harry muttered quietly as he felt Draco wrap his arms around the raven-haired boy. 

It had been a day since Harry had woken up in his own world, where nothing was as he remembered it. The two of them were currently staying in a small muggle village with Hermione and her parents. Hermione had been searching for a counter curse ever since the day of Voldemort's defeat, although she didn't have a clue where to start. The muggles were had all been informed that there were young scientists from the government whom wished to find a cure for some dangerous disease. 

They had been given a small house, and provided with food and a limited amount of money from the replaced Ministry of Magic… but even the Ministry was falling apart. It was all they could do to organize searches for the counter-curse and preparations of what would happen a generation later. Harry had been surprised that people took the news of the curse as calmly as they had… he had expected there to be chaos and disorder, enough that people would be panicking and in desperation. 

But instead, it was almost as if everything had someone understood that they were going to die a long time ago. 

"Stop what?" Draco whispered quietly into Harry's ear, lifting the baby hairs from his neck. 

Harry closed his eyes painfully, a hitch stuck in his throat as he remembered the words that Draco had told him when he had first come back home. "Stop pretending that everything's okay." 

Draco let out a small sigh before turning his eyes to the window that Harry had been staring out of earlier. "I'm not pretending that everything's alright. I thought we talked about it." 

"We talked about what happened after I disappeared… not anything else." 

"Only because you didn't want to listen." 

Harry turned in the embrace to glare fiercely at Draco. "I always listen. Of course I wanted to listen to what you say!" 

"I didn't mean it that way." Draco tried to placate the other boy, holding Harry tighter. He knew that Harry had been tense for the last few days, not knowing what to do with himself, not knowing how he could help. And the fact that he had been unconsciously avoiding Draco, afraid the blonde boy would be unable to handle any stress. 

Of course, Draco thought the idea was ridiculous, but he had humored Harry for the first few days anyway. Now he was getting sick and tired and the careful manner in which he was treated, and he refused to be treated like that again. 

"I meant," he tried to explain, "that you listen to me… but you don't really take it to heart." Then he paused, and chuckled slightly. "That didn't sound much better, did it?" 

Harry let a hand rest on Draco's face and smiled. "No, it didn't. But I think I understand what you're talking about." 

"You should." Draco smiled slyly. 

Harry just shook his head at Draco's antics, and leaned back into the embrace. His eyes remained wide open as he heard Draco sigh and nuzzle his hair gently. After a few minutes of the relaxed position, Draco spoke up again, his voice soft. 

"How are you?" 

There was a quirk of Harry's lips as he leaned against Draco's neck. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" 

"Oh, but you already know how I am." Before Harry could protest, he continued, "Evil, devious, charming, handsome…" 

Harry chuckled. "You flatter yourself too much." 

"Then how do you see me?" 

"Charming, handsome, devious, evil…" Amusement and mischief glinted in Harry's eyes, only amplified by his large glasses. The raven-haired boy smiled as Draco laughed, obviously amused by what Harry had said. 

"Is that supposed to go in order?" Draco asked, inclining his head to press his forehead against Harry's. 

Harry snorted. "If it were supposed to be in order, I'd have followed what you said exactly." 

"Yes, as opposed to you." Draco mocked with a smile. "You… goody-two-shoes." 

"Can't think up an insult worse than that?" 

"Shut up, you. I can think up plenty of insults… but then you'd hex me and I don't want you to move right now." 

Harry chuckled, a hand clutching at Draco's shirt. They were both wearing muggle clothing so that they wouldn't stand out in the muggle village, just a small domestic town with a few streets and minimum people. "What am I going to do with you?" 

Draco leered as Harry said that, then moved away slightly as the other boy tried to swat him. 

"Oh, I can think of many things…" 

"Pervert." Harry murmured as he leaned in for a kiss. Draco chortled into the kiss, and made Harry roll his eyes. 

Draco broke off to retort, "I am sixteen. My mind literally _lives_ in the gutter." He said, borrowing the muggle phrase that Harry had found amusing enough to teach to him. "Besides… anything about you, Harry…" 

Harry rolled his eyes again. "Softie." 

Draco grinned. "Git." 

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but then rethought about it. "I am not going to be pulled into another session of childish name-calling." He said, nodding firmly. 

"You're the one who started the name-calling! Besides, don't you miss those days?" 

"You mean the days when we were ready to rip each other's throats out?" Harry asked dryly. 

"We were as opposite as opposite could get." Draco agreed amiably, pausing as Harry brushes a kiss over his neck. "We still are, actually. The only difference being that now we're in love." 

"Draco…" 

The teasing mood had disappeared as Draco mentioned that, and Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder. 

"But we are, Harry." Draco said firmly, not intimidated by Harry's hesitance. "We're very much in love." 

It was a few seconds later before Harry could nod his agreement. 

  
  


There was research. Groups of the best witches and wizards the world had to offer sent out to find a counter-curse… to find a cure for whatever predicament that inflicted the wizarding world. Hermione and Draco had been two of those sent out, even though everyone knew that they had fought in the Last Battle… had been one of the few cursed to die that slow, painful death that was so much feared by everyone else. 

Ron had followed as well, but then was called back home by his own family, by his mother- who was grief stricken over the death of her husband, and a few of her children as well. As the Weasley family had been active fighters in the war, they also fell under the same curse, and Molly Weasley wanted her son back home for his last days, knowing that she couldn't stand losing him as well. 

The former Hogwarts students whom had survived and not been called back home banded together, seeking desperately for a charm that would allow them to battle this curse that plagued them daily. By the minute, the fear grew worse that someone would be on the way to finding a cure and then die with his or her secrets with them. Everyone shared information, the slightest scrap of information or ideas that they had, so that nothing would be held back. 

But the problem was- there wasn't much information to be found. 

But then, the research had only just begun. There was still much hope for something to be found, even though the entire wizarding world was also preparing for their own downfall at the same time. With each day, there were transitions into the muggle world, there were age-old wizarding families who were just beginning to discover the joys of electricity and muggle appliances. They knew they could not rely on magic for much longer. 

And with the people who were suffering in wizarding hospitals, and letters which were being delivered to and from foreign countries each day, the wizarding society was a mess. Letters from leaders from away, from people who just offered to help, bombarded the Ministry of Magic. And so many people who were quitting at the same time, saying that if they only had a handful of weeks left, they wanted to go back home. 

There was searches for the use of artifacts, for the use of ancient magic, any spell that would be strong enough to protect the world from its demise. There were small groups of wizards who resented the muggles still, because they were oblivious to the struggles that were just underneath their nose. Because the muggles didn't know of the hardships and tears that people were shedding at the moment because they did not want to see the wizarding world. 

Others argued against that. Muggles could not be blamed and used as a scapegoat because, quite frankly, they didn't know about the wizarding society. They didn't even know that magic existed! 

And with all the conflict going on in the world, it was a miracle that anything got done at all. The amount of magic that was being used the past two months had been astonding, as wizards and witches continued to find things they had to do last minute. 

If people would not be able to use magic after a generation, it was best to put it to good use before everything could be gone, right? There was much hope that Voldemort's curse would never come to pass, but still people were cautious, knowing that not acting was a risk they could not take. Let the elite groups of researchers look for a counter-curse... everyone else would be preparing for what would happen if nothing was found. 

But it would only be a matter of time before something was discovered… right? 

  
  


End chapter 1

**Authoress' Rambles:** Short, short chapter- but it's just an introduction to what has happened. ^_^ Things will start picking up speed in the next chapter, and it'll most likely be longer. State tests are evil, AP tests are evil, and all tests are evil in general. -_-;; And with the amount of threats that I received for the epilogue of _Into the Cold Fire_, I figured I had to work on this story despite all the testing. LOL. And my recent obsesstion with Evanescence can be seen from the above. ^^;; There's probably going to be a few lines from other Evanescence songs for all the chapters, since their lyrics are always incredible. ^_^  
Quick thanks to all those who reviewed for the epilogue of the last story (since this one continues right where it left off), there were... LOTS of people. O.o;; **tdei**, **OliverLover4Life**, *****, **Fate's Child**, **Fiery Disposition**, **smilez**, **EternalBastet**, **lollipozz**, **Rarity88**, **Jewelclaw Lady of Wind**, **h/d 4eva**, **Semmerie**, **felicia**, **frizzy**, **Ophite68**, **Flamingo**, **Jekyll**, **tala**, **Shinigami06**, **Jordan**, **ddz008**, **Fanny chan**, **Lily Evans Potter Black Lupin**, **Carms**, **momma-dar**, **Shattered Dreams**, **ryleeblack**, **Sheron**, **Unintentional Nightmare**, **yumi-no-baka**, **Black Fire**. Whew!

Next  
Home


	2. The New Research

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

As an early warning: this story is going to contain plenty of angst. This story _only_ contains angst... and romance. And maybe a little bit of humor- but it's all overshadowed by angst. Just so you know. Draco/Harry, Harry/Draco. Don't you love slash? ^__^ And to think, it's kinda multiple Harry-Draco... purely for the angst factor. LOL

  


**Vigilae Mortuorum**  
Chapter 2: The New Research  
Shamera

_You know I'd die just to hold you, stay with you   
Somehow I'll show you that you are my night sky  
I've always been right behind you  
Now I'll always be right beside you..._  
-Evanescence, "You" 

  
  
"This is insane." Hermione was tempted to tear at her short hair before everyone else, but knew that if she lost her cool- it would only be a matter of time before everyone became hopeless. But even so, she was tempted. She was frustrated enough, after all. All this research… and not a thing that could be found. 

It would be nice if they knew where to start. 

"Calm down." A soothing hand rested on her shoulder, the voice calm enough that she relaxed just a bit. 

Glancing through her bangs at the person who came to stand next to her, Hermione allowed herself a little smile. Here was a reason that she had to continue on, even if it's only for a belief. Harry's reappearance was like a miracle, and gave many people more hope that not everything was forsaken. 

"You're working yourself too hard." Harry sounded worried, and Hermione had to shake her head. 

"I'm not." She protested. "It's just that no matter how hard I work, I can't seem to come up with anything." 

"Do you want me to help you?" 

Hermione hesitated. On one hand, she wanted to say yes. Somehow, having Harry around calmed her nerves, just like back in Hogwarts. It seemed more like studying and researching for reports or tests rather then being in a life or death situation. But on the other hand… 

"Shouldn't you be spending time with Draco?" 

Harry gave a quirk of the lips, and shook his head. "We're not attached at the hip, 'Mione. We do need our away times as well." His eyes held a strange emotion. "I'd very much like good memories, thank you. And being confined together for a long time makes the both of us pissy." 

Hermione giggled. "I get it. You're the people who are desperately in love, but can't stand each other." 

"That's about it." Harry smiled. "So, you want me to do anything here? Run errands? Find people to do something?" 

Hermione allowed herself a small, relieved sigh. It would be so much easier with Harry around… even if it's just to relieve her troubled mind. The two of them knew each other explicitly, meaning that Harry would usually know what she needed before she asked for it. 

"It would be nice if you could tell me where to start searching," She mused aloud. 

Harry frowned. "I thought you've been working on this for a long time." 

She shrugged. "I have. All of us have. But we're usually spread out into different groups, some of us researching on old magical items that might help, some searching for charms, potions, inventions, and whatnots. With all of that, we're too spread out to actually find anything." 

"Why don't you try researching on magic?" He suggested. 

Hermione scowled. "Oh, sure. We're only ALL researching on magic." 

Harry shook his head. "No, I meant magic itself. What _is_ it? What caused it? What created it? Maybe if we can find a way to stop magic, we might find a way to dispel the curse." 

"I don't think that will work. Don't you remember magical theory, Harry? Magic is _innate_. Every living being has a portion of magic in them." 

"Then why is it that we have muggles? Why is there a separation between magical and ordinary creatures? Why are some people more powerful than others?" 

"Because some of us are more attuned to- wait. Harry. You know this already." 

Harry raised a hand to pacify Hermione's glare. "Yes. I remember the endless studying you made us do on this subject. But I just think that we're looking too hard, that's all. It's a feeling. Voldemort shouldn't be able to cast a curse this powerful." 

"Oh, Harry. He was incensed at us. Emotions only add to power, remember?" 

"But why is that?" Harry pressed. "Why is it that our emotions would make us stronger? It is some chemical that mixes together to amplify whatever power we have?" 

Now Hermione looked slightly disturbed. "Are you talking about… _science_? Chemistry, no less?" 

"Magic is supposed the 'unexplained'." Harry tried to say, his reasoning logical only to himself at the moment. "Because everything else can be explained, no matter how small they have to look. To cells and atoms and nuclei and neurons, everything can be explained in the muggle world." He was on a roll now, and smiled as he held up a finger. "Except… for magic. Muggles might not know that it exists, but they classify the unexplained as 'magic'. The paranormal. Something that can't be defined in the limited terms that they have." 

"What are you getting at?" Hermione asked, now genuinely curious about what Harry had in mind. She watched as the teenager pulled up a chair next to her and sat down on it, a look of determination in his face. 

"I think that we're searching too hard for a counter-curse. What if the answer is _small_? Tiny, even? I don't think that Voldemort, or anyone else for that matter, has the power to cast a curse that would destroy the whole of the wizarding world. The society is too old and too stable to fall to one curse. What if the answer is in _magic_ itself? You said so yourself that magic is innate. That means that the answer to all of this might be lying inside ourselves." 

Hermione was beginning to understand a hint of what Harry was going on about, but still didn't get the full picture. "You want to know what magic _is_." 

"Yes." 

"To explain the unexplained…" 

"I have a _feeling_, Hermione. That in order to find something, we have to look deeper than how we're looking now. Magic exists in everyone, and to have a curse that terms no one to ever be able to use magic again means that the curse is all somewhere in _us_. I don't think this is _one_ curse that we're trying to counter… I think it's _thousands_." 

"But there's no way that Voldemort could have been able to cast thousands of curses before he died!" 

"He didn't have to. He set one curse that would spread… almost like a virus, I'd reckon. That's why the people who were cursed directly are all dying at different times… their reactions to this curse is either later, or them are more immune to it." 

Hermione shook her head disbelievingly. "You're talking about a magical _curse_ like it's a muggle disease…" 

"What if it _is_ something like that?" 

"Harry- you _do_ remember that You-know-who hated everything muggle." 

"Hermione- he was half muggle." 

"Still! His goal was to *purge*" Hermione's voice was heavy with sarcasm. "the wizarding world of muggle-borns and even the people who loved muggle ideas." 

"He was a miserable old coot! If he wanted to purge the wizarding world, he's have to commit suicide himself." 

Hermione stood firm in her belief, "He is _not_ going to create a curse that acts like anything muggle." 

Harry sighed at the stony look on his best friend's face, knowing that Hermione would be hard to convince. He just had a _hunch_ that there was something to do with the magic that had been contaminated by the Dark Lord, and it was gut instinct that told him this could _help_ people. 

And by Merlin, if he could erase the hollow look in Draco's eyes, he would. He wasn't going to let the one he cherished above all else to die without the hardest fight he could give. 

"Think about it, Hermione." Harry insisted. "That's exactly what he knows we'll think. We would _never_ resort to muggle techniques to help ourselves because it _can't_ be anything muggle… why? Only because Voldemort hated all things muggle… we're going to rule out possibilities because of a stupid bias like _that_?" 

"We don't have the people to spare on this…" 

"Oh, that's a horrible excuse, Hermione." Harry scoffed. "I have a _feeling_ about it. Trust me… please?" 

Hermione looked to be about to protest, but then fell silent, contemplating the pros and cons of going with that research. 

Harry watched her think for a moment before taking her hands in his, and saying sincerely, "You said that you wanted a place to start. I'm giving you a place to start- from the very beginning. The essence of magic. Since when did I ever lead you astray?" 

Hermione glared weakly, knowing full well that she would break down to Harry's pleading. 

"The last time you said you had a 'feeling', I ended up locked in the storage room of the astronomy tower with Ron, a pencil, and a self-analysis book. With our wands in the Gryffindor common room, I might add." 

Harry only grinned lopsidedly. "I got you to admit your feelings to each other, didn't I?" 

  
  


To Harry Potter, there was no such thing as fate and destiny. He saw it as an excuse to blame some higher, senseless being for the mistakes that a person themselves would make. For example, he could have said that he was fated to grow up the way he did, that everything that happened to him wasn't because of circumstance, and it wasn't because he had a sob story for a life, but because of fate. That he was destined to live the life he had lived because everything came to a pivotal moment that would affect the rest of mankind. 

But he didn't believe that. 

Some would say that it was horrible for him to say he didn't believe in soul mates, either. He didn't believe in the love = happiness forevermore and all that crap that teenaged girls liked to sprout when their eyes glaze over and they coo over the first cute male that they see. 

In fact, if someone got to look at the way Harry thought the world worked, they might label him as downright cynical. No trust whatsoever in the beauty of life and its mysteries, even if he were able to wield a strong magic. He might have been the quiet one, and he might have been the one who smiled encouragingly to those who needed the support, and the one who's been declared the hero of the wizarding world once again, but one could honestly say that Harry Potter believed mankind chose their own futures. 

Harry believed that if a person worked hard for something, they deserved something back. Nothing so fancy as karma, but more like a just reward that doesn't involve good or bad. Although he believed in the idea that you deserve what you get, he believed in hard work and dedication. Nothing existed without those two. Nothing good and lasting, that is. 

To gain something positive in your life (and this included love), a person had to work hard for it. It doesn't just appear out of nowhere and make the world a beautiful, shining place. A person had to _see_ the world as a beautiful place before they can appreciate the aesthetics of nature. And while he understood that falling in love was something that could not be controlled, staying in love was something that needed work. 

After all, just because you fell in love with someone doesn't mean that you'll automatically have a happily ever after. It could be that you can't stand each other, can't have a conversation without trying to kill each other, or can't live with each other because you're so different… or too similar. 

Harry understood that it was difficult to make a relationship work, whether it be with someone who's the total opposite of you, or someone who you understand more than yourself because they're so much like you. A relationship took patience, took understanding, took copious amounts of love and care and forgiveness. 

Hermione had once read to him that most people seek their opposite in a relationship because they cannot stand his/her self. If they find a person similar to themselves, they will be attracted, but eventually see within their significant other the faults that they too possess and hate. And soon all they can see in their partner is their own faults, and they will start to hate the other… eventually ending up hating themselves. 

It made Harry glad that he and Draco had nothing alike at all. 

But still, a relationship was hard work. And it was work that he had gladly done in order to stay with the blonde Slytherin. Numerous amounts of people tried to tear them away from each other, break them up. They had never become to close to succeeding, only managing to make the two boys come even closer to each other, having a common enemy that they could fight against. The two teenaged boys had soon discovered that if they were to break up, it wouldn't be because of the public, but because they could not stand each other. They couldn't go a few hours without shouting at each other, getting into a fight. 

It took months before they went through an entire date without arguments. 

No, Harry did not believe in true love. But he understood that without Draco, he would never love anything again. 

  
  


Looking into the sky here wasn't the same as looking into the sky in the other world… where the clouds were scarce and happy, the sky bright and joyful to know that it was another beautiful day. Here, things were somehow more dull, even though Harry understood that it shouldn't be that way. Just because there was a bitter war that had been fought here didn't make the world any less beautiful. 

Taking another second to glance up at the blueness of the sky, Harry allowed a melancholy expression to cross his face for just a second. 

He had given everything up… the peace that he had somehow found by chance in another reality, just so he could return to Draco. He figured that he couldn't have everything… that he had to chose between one or the other- love or peace? 

In the end, of course, he had chosen love. Because he remembered the times when any other person would have crumbled under the strain… remembered day long arguments and weeks of sulking after that. He remembered kisses and bitter tears, always present even through a haze of distance and forgetfulness. 

They had worked too hard for this relationship, they couldn't lose _now_. 

The desolate feeling made Harry want to scream, shout to the disgustingly beautiful sky about how unfair it was, that they worked so hard only to have everything torn away from them. But he couldn't. He refused to. He wasn't that weak. 

Arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him back taunt against another person. 

"I don't remember you making a habit of staring out into nowhere." A voice appeared on his neck, the breath making Harry shiver slightly. The arms around him tightened at the shiver, and Harry wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and pretend that the moment could last forever. That this was it… this was everything he ever wanted. 

"It's a new habit I've developed." Harry whispered, his eyes half-lidded behind his glasses. He took his gaze from the sky only to stare at the frozen ground below, wondering slightly at the half-crushed snow, and the ugliness that lay under the visage of the clear sky above. He couldn't help the surge of emotion that welled up in him, knowing that he needed to get the question out. "Why did this happen?" 

There was silence behind him for a moment, and Harry could feel Draco's lashes close against his neck. 

"Because life isn't perfect… and there's no such thing as 'happily ever after'…" 

Harry turned, stepping out of Draco's arms, feeling extremely cold now. He saw Draco's eyes open again, and there was an almost tangible sadness there. "Not even if we wished for it with all our hearts? We always promised each other…" Harry's words trailed off. 

"We always promised each other…" Draco continued for him. "'After this… if we survive…'" Draco's piercing grey eyes were moist. "I always started to say that to you, but never got to finish…" 

Knowing exactly what he was going to say, Harry tried his best to shush the other boy, so that the words would never have to be spoken. So that the horrible truth that lay underneath the calmness and tranquility of the imminent journey beyond would never have to be mentioned- not while there was still time for the present. 

"No, Harry. I couldn't bear the thought that I never told you this… especially when you disappeared." Draco caught Harry's hands in his own, his thumb smoothing over the calloused skin. Harry was silent, his green eyes narrowed to keep in his emotions. Draco only smiled slightly and brushed their cheeks together. "I wanted to ask you… after the war, after everything… if we both survived the war and the final battle…" He took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask you if you would spend the rest of your life with me." 

Harry drew in his breath sharply, the tears finally winning and spilling over his cheeks to touch Draco's. But there was moisture there as well, and now neither of them could tell whose tears belong to who. It was their common sorrow… the same heart that spilled the same tears. 

"Maybe I was just too sure of myself back then… or not sure enough. I didn't have the guts to ask you, but I knew what your answer would be. I knew how happy you would be." Draco's voice cracked, and he wrapped his arms around the stunned Gryffindor boy. "But I couldn't give you that heartache if I had died." 

"Then why are you asking now?" Harry's voice was barely above a whisper, and he found that the tears just wouldn't stop once they had control. He only closed his eyes and leaned closer, wrapping his own arms around Draco's waist. 

"Because I have to tell you how much I love you." Was Draco's answer. "When you disappeared, and everyone thought you had died… the first thing I could think of was that: I never told him I wanted to grow old with him." 

Harry squeezed his eyes shut and leaned into Draco until he was sure he couldn't be any closer to the other boy. The wetness had reached his neck by now, the salty substance irritating his skin. 

"I… then realized how selfish I was, because I knew… that even though we had promised each other a life together, and only I had survived… I would still want reassurance that you would say yes." 

"Then yes." Harry drew away from Draco just enough that they could look each other in the eyes. "That's my answer. More than anything, yes." 

Harry raised a hand to hold over Draco's cheek, eyes probing those grey pools. 

"I love you. I… I just can't live without you." 

Draco leaned into the hand, "Don't say that, Harry. Not now." 

"I wouldn't know how to live without you." Harry said bluntly, honestly. His green eyes held Draco's firmly, "We've fought for so long… fought against each other, against Voldemort… against fate and destiny, against space and everything else… just for the right to be together. Please fight… fight for me? Don't give up, don't ever give in, not even in the last moment." 

Draco let out a bark of laughter, not sounding happy at all. But his own hands came up to hold Harry's hand firmly against his face, and he murmured into the palm, "How can I not fight? I'll always fight, if only for another second with you…" 

Eyes softening, Harry leaned back into Draco's open arms. 

  
  


End chapter 2

**Authoress' Rambles:** Waaii... Had to get this out in the morning because I have a concert today... -_-;; So busy the last few weeks of school! Open meetings, installs, last socials, plans for summer trips, plans for summer school, jobs, finals, concerts, birthdays, working on costumes and whatnots. ^^;; I'm going on a diet! Which doesn't bode well for my writing since I've found that I write best when I eat... ^^;; But my metabolism is bound to slow down eventually and I don't want to get caught unable to stop eating. LOL *crosses fingers* Hope I make it!  
I hope people liked this chapter... most of it was too sentimental for me to understand very well... in fact, more than half of the last scene was written a few months ago. It has emotional significance, but that's about it. ^^;; This chapter is to **Tess**, **Kalariona**, **H**, **mandraco**, **Jordan**, **smilez**, **Shattered Dreams**, **lollipozz**, **Illusoire**, **Silver Angel**, **Duvessa Snape**, **Otaku freak**, **Lily Evans Potter Black Lupin**, **silva star**, and **Fate's Child**. ^_^ LOL! I didn't know the alternateuniverse!Draco sounded like a sweet, clueless guy. ^_~ I'll be sure to tell him that. XD

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	3. Calm Before the Storm

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

As an early warning: this story is going to contain plenty of angst. This story _only_ contains angst... and romance. And maybe a little bit of humor- but it's all overshadowed by angst. Just so you know. Draco/Harry, Harry/Draco. Don't you love slash? ^__^ And to think, it's kinda multiple Harry-Draco... purely for the angst factor. LOL

  


**Vigilae Mortuorum**  
Chapter 3: Calm Before the Storm  
Shamera

_catch me as i fall  
say you're here and it's all over now  
speaking to the atmosphere  
no one's here and i fall into myself  
this truth drives me into madness  
i know i can stop the pain if i will it all away..._  
-Evanescence, "Whisper" 

  
  
"How's the research going?" 

There was a rustle of the papers before Hermione looked up, her eyes bleary from the intensive research that she had been doing. 

"Not very well." She admitted with a frown, straining her neck to look up at Harry as he walked to her desk. "There's a ton of information here… there's so many wizards who've tried to sum up what magic really is… all their stories and opinions are different, too different for me to make out anything logical." 

"Magic isn't really logical, 'Mione." Harry pointed out with a smile as he leaned over her chair to peer at what she was reading. "If it were logical, I'm sure that it would be explained off like electricity or air pressure." 

"Still…" Hermione trailed off. She shut the heavy tome that had been set before her and sneezed quietly as a layer of dust flew off, Harry ducking behind her to avoid the grime that was flying around. "All this research isn't doing anything to help me here." 

Harry kneaded her shoulders gently. "Maybe you should go out and take a walk or something. It might help you clear your mind. All this dust and darkness with only give you allergies. I'm willing to bet your eyes are already sensitive enough to light as it is." 

Hermione gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, not willing to let the tension flow out of herself yet. She had informed the Ministry yesterday of her change in research, and when she had mentioned that Harry Potter had thought she should do more research on the essence of magic, everyone seemed to perk up and encourage the funding for that study, never mind how absurd it seemed to their current cause. With the simple mentioning of Harry's name, she had gotten more help and support than she had gotten the entire project. 

It made her feel… empty, somehow. That the entire wizarding world would once again be trusting Harry to get them back on their feet, despite the fact that the boy was still dealing with the fact that the people he loved were slowly dying. It was that type of information that jaded her, made her think that perhaps the wizarding society wasn't that strong after all, to have to lean on one boy. 

"I doubt I'll be able to think up anything outside that I can't think up in here." She intoned dryly. 

"It doesn't hurt to try!" Harry said with a slight cheer in his voice, noticeably forced. Hermione hated that. She hated that Harry was trying to be optimistic and cheerful for their sakes, and worried over what he was really feeling. "Fresh air would do you good. Maybe a different approach to everything." He hesitated for a moment before offering, "Draco and I were going to go shopping for Christmas presents… do you want to come with us? We're all going to separate at some time in order to get presents for each other, but I figured you should come too… you've been worrying far too much about us both…" 

_No,_ Hermione wanted to say. _You're the one who's been worrying far too much, Harry._

"…and not only that, you haven't even answered the letter from Ron yet. It looked kind of important, and it's not like you to forget about letters from friends, Hermione." 

The brunette felt a small pang of guilt, finally remembering the crisp letter that Pig had delivered just yesterday, but not having the time to open the letter, only accepting it gratefully from Pig and letting the small owl out to fly back to the Weasleys. 

"See?" Harry asked, understand her expression instantly. "You need to relax." 

And it was that reason that Draco, Harry, and Hermione headed out two hours later for the small shopping center in the muggle community, bound in their warmest sweaters and jackets, covered with snow-repellent charms. 

  
  


"Do you know how meaningless all these things here seem?" Draco asked calmly, using a finger to poke at the glass figurines that were dangling before him. The three of them had somehow ended up in a crystals shop in the small plaza that looked promising for selling unusual and unique gifts. The entire street that they were shopping on looked to be managed by proprietors who sold their own handcrafted items, making the gifts more expensive and more expressive than the regular company-made products. 

It was actually Draco's idea to stop at the crystals shop, thinking he could get something romantic and special for Harry (at least that was what Hermione speculated. Why else would Draco stop at a crystals shop? …okay, maybe to please his own whimsical and fleeting interests in all things that were pretty. Klepto!). But he had done nothing but grumble about the bad quality and meaningless tokens since he had gotten inside. It made the two Gryffindors roll their eyes at each other, knowing that no matter how much Draco changed- he was still the same inside. 

"I think it's the idea behind the gift that counts, not the actual worth of the gift itself," Hermione said, hiding a smile as she examined the small glass unicorn that was in the case before her, the delicate statue showing an elegant beauty that she found fascinating. 

"Yes, it's the thought that counts." Harry provided helpfully from an aisle away, where he had been looking at the music boxes. In all honesty, Harry found the items in the shop frivolous also, but deemed it as a good start to their Christmas shopping. Draco was right. Nothing in the shop was practical, just things that were pleasant to look at. But he didn't want to tell Hermione that, since she was so enchanted by the items in the shop. "Besides- you can always enchant them." 

Draco smirked, and peered over the low shelves at Harry, "Aren't you the little law-breaker, now?" 

"It's not against the law to enchant muggle items anymore." Harry pointed out. "Not while we're trying to leave as many traces of magic as we can." 

Draco's smirk stayed where it was. "Yes, I can see it now- even after the fall of the wizarding world, muggles are going to discover our items hundreds of years later and blow themselves up by accident thinking that it's just an ordinary artifact. It'll be like land-mines… you never know if there's a curse on it or not." 

"Ancient artifacts are already like that. Most have curses on them anyway." 

The blonde rolled his eyes. "You're missing the purpose, Granger." 

"No, I'm not. You'd be leaving a legacy if you enchant something simple now. Imagine someone's surprise when they discover a part of another person's personality from hundreds of years ago. It may look useless, but it can be extremely meaningful for a long time." 

"Does that mean you're getting the unicorn?" Draco asked with amusement, pointing to the glass unicorn that Hermione was still staring at. 

She sniffled. "Heck- why not? I have no reason not to get it." 

Harry smiled. "I think I'll get something too, then." He picked up a plain, wooden music box and showed it to the others. "We can get an inscription in here… something memorable. Then we'll always remember this conversation." 

"Why would you want to remember this conversation? It's a useless memory among everything that's happened to us." Draco peered at him again. "Don't you want to remember something more meaningful?" 

"But this is how our conversations are- quite inane." Harry grinned at Draco's squawk of protest, and continued, "We can't only remember the good and bad memories, right? Most of our life is the in-between moments… conversations like this one." 

"So what are you going to have inscribed in there?" Hermione asked. "'Memories of the inane'?" 

Harry pondered this. "You know, that's actually not such a bad idea, 'Mione." 

The made their purchase and Harry asked specifically for an inscription that he wouldn't tell neither Draco nor Hermione. They were going to put up the music box after all their Christmas purchases, and left the shop for the next one. 

Seeing that from then on, they were just buying gifts for each other, the three of them separated and agreed to meet back at the center of the plaza in an two hours, where they would go for hot chocolate and pick up Harry's box, then head home for the day. 

And it was two hours later that saw Harry sitting before the large Christmas tree in the center plaza, trying to tie the bags that contained the wrapped presents meant for his friends. He was glad that he had taken his wand with him, just to enchant some of the things before it was wrapped by the assistants. 

Harry smiled to himself as he looked through his bags, closing them tightly to make sure that the now falling snow wouldn't get inside and soak the presents. He knew that this coming Christmas would be a hard one, especially considering the circumstances. But it was a Christmas that he knew he had to remember forever. 

Breathing in the cold air, Harry looked around the plaza for any sign of either Hermione or Draco. He knew that he had felt someone… 

"Gotcha." Arms circled him from behind where he was sitting, and Harry startled to feel a smile pressed against the skin of his neck underneath the thick scarf that he wore. Light-blonde hair fell against the front of his jacket as Harry squirmed around to face Draco. 

"Draco- we're in public!" 

"So?" The tone was defiant. They had both learned long ago that though they had survived their relationship and the wizarding world was starting to accept the idea that the Boy-Who-Lived would be paired with a former Death Eater's son, the muggle world was still as intolerant as ever. "It's not like anyone can really get a good glance at us under all this snow and layers of clothing that we're wearing." Draco shifted to the side as he took Harry's gloved hand and began to pull gently on the fingers of the gloves. "Besides, I want your opinion on something." 

Harry bit back any further protests and clenched his hand slightly when the cold air met his skin. "My opinion on what? You never seemed to need my opinion on anything before." He teased. 

Draco hummed his agreement before saying, "Well, I think I should ask for it when it comes to this." He leaned his head down to kiss the palm of Harry's hand, and sliding a gold ring down Harry's forth finger. 

Harry's breath hitched in his throat as he felt the cool band pressing even colder than the snow around them. He could feel rather than see Draco's smile at his dazed expression. 

"I had this for a while… but I had it engraved today." 

Draco took the opportunity to lift Harry's hand so the words would be visible. "Ai, for love. Our names are inside the band, along with yesterday's date." 

The simplicity of it astounded Harry. After all they had been through, after all the trials they had endured, it all came down to one word. It made everything seem so trivial, and so meaningful at the same time. He may not have been able to believe in a romanticized version of reality before, but Harry was seriously having his doubts on whether or not he was currently stuck in a dream. A good or bad one, he couldn't tell. 

"And you…?" He finally breathed out after a few moments, turning wide green eyes towards the boy behind him. Draco only grinned and lifted his own hand, wiggling his fingers around a bit. He had already taken off his gloves when Harry had been staring, and an identical ring sat on his finger. 

"I'll admit- the muggle storeowner gave me quite the look when I told him the names, but Harry can be short of Harriett, right?" 

Harry tried to swap Draco with his gloves, but missed as the blonde boy ducked away, laughing as he did so. 

But then Draco gave out a small 'oof' as he was knocked to the snow-covered ground, his arms coming up automatically to encircle the widely grinning Harry, who had him pinned down with his arms. 

"You're such a sap, Draco Malfoy." Harry declared. "Unbelievable pounce as well, but-" 

Draco gave out a squawk of protest and flipped them over so that it was Harry who was buried in the snow. "Me? Don't be ridiculous." He snorted disdainfully. "I'm dignified, elegant, and incredibly pretty if I do say so myself." 

Harry laughed for a moment, and then brought a hand up to Draco's face, watching the shine of the ring against the pale skin that Draco supported, his glasses starting to fog up with the snow falling on it and his warm breath underneath. "Have I mentioned how much I love you?" 

He watched as Draco's grey eyes widened, and then soften as they stared at each other, the world outside the parameter of themselves falling apart like glass pieces. For that moment, nothing else existed and even the snow around them didn't seem so cold anymore. It was as if the sights and smalls of the world had intensified so much that they had disappeared, and the onslaught of emotions that rang throughout Harry's body allowed him to rest his worries and fears for just that one second needed to tell Draco how he felt. It was a moment where's Draco's expression turned wistful and almost bittersweet, and Harry pulled the other boy down towards him so that they wouldn't be that far away from each other, for every centimeter apart was a centimeter too far. 

Draco leaned down into the soft kiss, eyes flittering shut as he allowed Harry to take control, allowed his elbows to rest on the snow for support and felt the raven-haired boy wrap his arms around Draco's waist. The contact of skin on skin was addictive, even if it were only patches of skin. The feel of Harry below him made him warm, and Draco groaned when the other boy pulled away, and opened his eyes to find amused green orbs staring at him. 

Draco smiled back, still feeling the tingling of when the universe had stopped a moment just for the two of them. "You have now." 

Harry brushed aside a wisp of hair that had fallen out of place across Draco's face, and before the moment could end and before he lost the courage to do so, he asked, "I wanted to know… if you would spend forever with me?" 

He could feel Draco's ungloved hand capturing his own. "Forever and a day, love. Beyond forever, if I can." 

And they smiled, knowing that _this_ would be the moment that even the highest power would respect, because this was the moment that was framed in time just for the two of them. 

  
  


"I come back only to find you two snogging on the street. Am I the third party member here?" Hermione grumbled as she lugged her bags behind her, glaring at the two amused looking boys. She had been a little late because one of the assistants on the shops had messed up with her wrapping, needing to start over from scratch. While she hadn't been worried that they would leave her because she was late, she hadn't been expecting the display of public affection, either. 

"Of course not, 'Mione." Harry was saying cheerfully. "It's just that the gloom and doom was getting to us." 

"What gloom and doom?" Hermione murmured under her breath before shaking her head. At least Harry's happiness didn't sound fake this time. She supposed that anything that made her best friend genuinely happy was worth her embarrassment. 

"Besides," Harry added in, his arm entwined with Draco's. "It's Christmas season. We should enjoy ourselves." 

"You're awfully perky today, aren't you?" Hermione mustered a weak glare at Harry, "Do something that you weren't supposed to before I caught you guys." 

"No," Draco said brightly. "You stopped us before we could get to that." 

Hermione only choked on her reply. 

The three stopped before the crystals shop they had been in just a while earlier to pick up the present that Harry had bought, and was pleasantly surprised to see that no, Harry had not put something as ridiculous as 'Memories of the Inane' on the top of the elegant sherry wood box. Instead, there contained simply 'Memories' carved in a flowing calligraphy type script across the top. After the purchase, Harry had taken off a necklace that had previously been hidden underneath his shirt to place into the box, along with a rune stone that Hermione understood as 'protect' and 'communication'. 

"Memories?" She asked lightly, curious as to those items, as she had been them before but had been too busy to notice them. She noticed Harry clutching those items tightly when she and Draco had first found Harry a few days (almost a week! Time flew by so fast…) ago. She had not concerned herself with them at that time due to the surprise and horror when she thought she had found her friend's corpse. 

"Hmm." Harry agreed in his throat, looking delighted at the music that started up when he opened the box, and at the spacious and simple interior. "Memories of this world and another, I should have said." 

Hermione and Draco exchanged glance, wondering if either of them should ask at the moment. Harry looked to melancholy, and they had had such a pleasant afternoon that they didn't want to fill it with reality. It was a memory that they wanted untouched by bloodshed and heartache. But curiosity got the best of Hermione, and she complied only to a certain extent, "A protection rune, Harry?" 

Harry smiled at her after clicking the box shut and tucking it safely deep into his bags. "From a good friend of mine. A really… really good friend." His eyes flickered over to a confused Draco for a second, before looking to Hermione again. 

Hermione didn't miss the fleeting glance. "Good friend, hmm?" She didn't really want to pry, but she felt the back of her neck prickle with the comment. "I suppose that same person gave you the necklace?" 

"Actually… would you believe me if I said that my mother gave me that necklace?" 

That prompted Harry to explain vaguely the feelings he had when he had previously fallen into the alternate universe. How he had met his parents again, and the warmth that his mother showered him with the entire time he was there. 

  
  


End chapter 3

**Authoress' Rambles:** *apologizes profusely for such a long wait* In the end, it was the reviewers that made my get off my lazy ass and write again. I went through my reviews two days ago and decided, 'I just HAVE to finish this.' ^^;; I wish I could claim that I was in the hospital in a coma where there's no way that I could have written, but the truth is just that I've been busy with the end of school, and immediately following that, summer school, AP homework, AX, and whatnots. Thanks SOOOO much to **tdei** for the picture of Harry!! *gushes*   
Sorry about the bad quality of this chapter, and the meaninglessness that was shown. A chapter of fluff just for you guys. ^^;; But lots of love go to **Jordan**, **Moony-Black**, **mandraco**, **NayNymic**, (Marissa too, LOL), **silva star**, **ddz008**, **TeeDee**, **Shinigami06**, **Alexa Donaghy**, **Cat**, **yumi-no-baka**, **Lily Evans Potter Black Lupin**, **frizzy**, **Kylie**, **Chibi Chingo**, **Fairady**, **Unintentional Nightmare**, **SilentPhoenix**, **HironiKoshinha**, **anon**, **Night Walker**, and **Diana Malfoy**!! Thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on this story! ^^;; Another chapter should be out soon!

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	4. Note and to the Reviews!

  


Okay! I absolutely detest and abhore an entire chapter dedicated to author's notes, and comments, and whatever. Just to get that straight. And fanfiction.net hates it too, I know. But I figure that I really, really owed everyone a long explanation and apology for the long wait you had to go through for this story.

*a deep bow* I'm very, very sorry!! Gomen nasai, mina-san. For some reason, I just have a very hard time writing this story, as some people may have noticed. ^^;; Sappy romance really isn't my thing, but I adore this story idea too much to let it go unfinished. I'd actually like to thank everyone who yelled at me in the reviews LOL! and those who chidded me about my writing not being up to standerd (especially when 'standerd' isn't too high with me. ^^;;) 

As an explanation, I'm actually having an easier time writing the third story to this trilogy, entitled _All Heaven in the Heartbeat_. I can't put out the first chapter to that story, though, as it continues straight from the end of this story and reading that would spoil this entire story! ^_^ My computer has been broken for a long time now ~_~ and my laptop is too old for me to spend a lot of time on her. So I can only type up my stories when I don't have much homework to do on my laptop. If it helps any- a lot of this story has been writen down in notebooks and such, and just needs to be typed up and beta-ed. 

I've also been working on a lot of other stories, and a new series should come out soon- one that I hope everyone will check out and like (*cough*shamelesspromotion*cough*) as it is a HP fairy tale reedition of Sleeping Beauty (on crack! *cough*) featuring faeries and vampires. It's called **Last Enchantment**. XD

And now, because I hate it when there's just a note and nothing really for the readers, here's a short segment that was supposed to be in the extra-long portion of the next chapter! A very Merry Christmas to everyone! 

  
  


To:

**silva star**- I think it'll take some time before Draco gets to know about 'Draco'. *coughs* XDDD Harry's still not too sure where 'home' is for him yet, although he knows that he wants to be wherever the Draco he fell in love with is. ^__^ But that would get a bit complicated if there are two Dracos' in love with him, aye?

**Jess S1**- Thanks! *blushes* I've always wanted to pull off the magical part of Harry Potter with the 'reality' part. LOL. Although that doesn't sound too compatible. I'm glad that you find it all interesting! ^__^

**destinywriters**- Thank you so much for your continued support! T_T So sorry to make everyone wait so long, especially when you were waiting so long for the last chapter already! I really hope that you like this chapter and that you'll like all the future chapters!

**tdei**- *glomps!!* Waaii, I haven't been online much lately... ^^;; nor on the computer much. Wai, wai, you're the best ever! So sorry about not being able to talk to you lately, though- T_T Hope you like the new chapter!!

**Shinigami061**- The fluffy chapter had been so easy to write back then. LOL. I'm glad that it balanced out the angst. I've learned from reviews that fluffiness usually amplifys the angst factor, but makes it more bearable. ^_^ Thanks so much for your review, and I hope I keep up to everyone's Draco and Harry cute-ness factor!

**DcSolstice**- Thanks for the review! Wow, everyone seemed to be waiting for chapters. ^^;; I'm glad that you liked that part! ^__^ I've always loved the part in The Stepmother where the ring was slipped onto her finger... I wanted to model that scene after that!

**silverflames18**- Wow. Definately after my own heart. LOL. Can I call you prettypixie instead? Most people threaten to kill if their favorite character is killed off. ^^;; So I'm not too sure if everyone's going to die yet. I knew that certain people are going to, but I'm afraid of being strangled to death. ^^;;

**Willow8**- Thank you so much! I was really worried that people wouldn't like the characters much because they're so OOC... especially after OotP. Thanks so much for reading both _Into the Cold Fire_ and this one! *blushes* I hope that you'll like the rest of the story as well!!

**Unintentional Nightmare**- Waaii~! Yesyes, I adore inane-ness! I completely agree with Harry and think that the most (and best) moments in life have absolutely nothing to do with anything at all! Random conversations and calm moments- that's what makes up life. ^__^ And yes, ^^;; Fanfiction-Draco is better than Book-Draco. ^^;; But I'm biased 'cause I wholeheartedly believe that Harry and Draco should end up together. XD Glad you're getting into your slash spree again!!

**ShadowHunter1**- Wow! Thank you! Yea, I've been much berated about the ending of the last story. ^^;; But I'm glad that you're so into the story! Yes, Harry is going to visit again- ^_~ Only because I love to cause mischief. But you'll have to wait a while before that happens again!

**GoldenSunnyGrl**- Thankees!! *beams* I really hope that you enjoy the next part as well. It's dedicated to all the reviewers~ ^_^

**habbitualron**- That's why I picked this title. LOL. I'm glad that you've enjoyed this story so! Actually, the title comes from Edgar Allen Poe- from _Fall of the House of Usher_, which I had been reading when I first started _Into the Cold Fire_. They mentioned the name once, and I just knew I had to write a story with that title. ^_^

**Sweet Sorrow1**- ^^;; So sorry!! It ended up to be almost 4 months before I came out with this chapter. I swear it won't happen again! LOL. And it's reviews like yours that really got me writing again too! ^_~

**Cataclysmic**- *in awe* I can't thank you enough for a review like this! Just... wow. I don't know what to say! I... am so very glad that you enjoyed this story and the previous one. Harry is definately trying his magic without a wand in this story- he didn't in the last story because he just never really thought about it. I was worried about how people would take my portrayal of Lily, so I'm elated that you like the relationships! Maybe I'll be able to convert you to a slash fan. ^_~ This story is going to contain a lot more slash than the previous one did- but not to worry! It's all chaste to focus more on the plot and the emotions, or at least that's what I'm trying to do. ^^;; Once again, thank you so much for your wonderful review and for being so accepting about the things that happen to the story!

**Isa**- LOL! I really hope you got something for that 'cough'. ^^;; I adore this review! Thank you so much for encouraging *cough*demanding*cough* me to continue to write! XD You're one of the main reasons that I couldn't give up on this story! ^_~

**lizziebordon**- Waaii, can I ever thank you enough for getting me off my ass and writing? But no, Ron's not dead. LOL. And not only would I also love to see the look on Blaise's face when he see Harry and Draco together, I would love to see the look on his face when he sees Harry with *two* Dracos! ^_~ *cackles* Lovely scenario, that. *cough* And thanks so much for keeping track of this story! *beams* Chapter 4, actually, is posted for you! I promised this to be out before New Year's, so it is out. ^__^ See? The chapter was posted within a week of the teaser! I hope you like it!

**Peeves3**- Thank you! ^__^ I was afraid that this wasn't original at all, since there were so many stories that had Harry going to an alternate reality and meeting his parents- I wanted to make something original for _Vigilae Mortuorum_! Thanks so much for the review- that really made my day!

**falling ice star**- I haven't abandoned this fic! O_O Wow. You're one of the three people that really got me off my butt and writing again! LOL. My writing seems to be slipping lately.. ^^;; I need a new beta reader. My old one abandoned Harry Potter for Pirates of the Carribeans. O.o;; Thanks so much for the eh.... threat. ^^;; LOL. It made sure that I had something out by Christmas!

**Jenn Lynne**- *hands you a box of tissues* I'm glad you like this story even if you aren't so keen on the pairing! ^^;; Thank you so much for the great review! I'll make sure that this story continues, no matter what!

**Dea Liberty**- Waaii~ sorry about the teaser! The rest is out!! I'm definately writing again!! *nodsnods* This update didn't come too late after the teaser... right? ^^;; I mean... umm... a canary cage is kinda small... ^^;;;

**Sloane Miette**- Thank you, thank you, thank you!! *beams* It took me a long time to try and figure out how this story would work. ^^;; Don't worry- there's a lot more revelations in this story, hopeful all pretty logical and all which will be revealed to the readers! No, Ron's not dead yet. ^^;; But he is really sick, as is the rest of them. Ron finally showed up in chapter 4! ^^;; Sorry about the wait...

**lizziebordon**- I think I've mentioned this before above... chapter 4 is dedicated to you and your patience. ^^;; I'm sorry about the teaser! Thank you so much for you reviews!!!

Also to:  
**Jordan**, **yumi-no-baka**, **Moony-Black**, **ncgal**, **HironiKoshinha**, **ddz008**, **Shinri**, **Dea Liberty**, **Kelly8**, **Delphine Pryde**, **g0ldensnidget, a.k.a. Snitch**, **lin**, **Coco**, **TeeDee**, **Sasuka**, **AmunetIfe**, **Serpent of Light**, **tomboy101**.

I just *had* to give you guys this page since you've been waiting so long for this chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and the last one, and all those who've waited to read the rest of it!!


	5. The First Signs

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Definately AU. XDD Slash! You should know that by now. Plenty of angst factor, and fluffy romance. Continued from _Into the Cold Fire_- Harry returns home to a world different from that which he left. The wizarding world is falling apart due to Voldemort's last curse, and the people he love is dying. Can he find a counter-curse before everything is lost?

Dedicated to **lizziebordon**! Because she's waited so very long for this chapter! ^^;;

  


**Vigilae Mortuorum**  
Chapter 4: The First Signs  
Shamera

_blurring and stirring the truth and the lies  
so i don't know what's real and what's not  
always confusing the thoughts in my head  
so i can't trust myself anymore  
i'm dying again, i'm going under  
drowning in you, i'm falling forever..._  
-Evanescence, "Going Under" 

  
  
_ "I hate you and everything about you!" _

Harry slammed the door of the Gryffindor common room on the shocked face of Draco Malfoy. The raven-haired boy was absolutely furious with himself, and with the blonde Slytherin. The circumstances at the beginning of fifth year had lead to the historic rivals to be unlikely and shaky friends who sometimes talked civilly with each other and sometimes couldnt stand each other. Harry couldn't understand why he had chosen to confide in Draco about the Dursleys, as he had unconsciously known the Slytherin's reaction before he even started the conversation. Having grown up so pampered, Draco wouldn't possibly understand Harry's childhood, and their previous conversation proved it. 

It had really been a moment of weakness, Harry thought bitterly as he leaned against the portrait door, seething with anger. He had just gone through another argument with Dumbledore about having to stay with his relatives for the summer, and the Headmaster had insisted that Harry stay for the protection that his blood relatives could provide. Dumbledore had tried to be as gentle as possible to Harry, but the boy wouldn't take any of the kindness and had stormed out of the office, upsetting the phoenix on the perch. 

The first person he had encountered had been Draco, who had just come in from a Slytherin Quidditch practice. The two had been on one of their better weeks, and the blonde boy had been shocked by the anguish on Harry's face and the lack of Ron and Hermione from his side. He had led Harry to an empty classroom in hopes of trying to pry why the boy was in such a bad mood out of the Gryffindor. Harry had known from the beginning that Draco wouldn't understand, but had desperately needed someone to talk to. 

The only problem was, instead of Harry feeling better afterwards, his temper only got worse when Draco had asked why he would allow muggles to disturb him so. He had tried to contain his anger, knowing that it was rare for the two of them to be on such good terms, but after a few more ignorant questions from the Slytherin, Harry just couldn't take it anymore. He might now have known what he needed back then, but he knew that it wasn't someone berating him for not fighting back against his relatives. 

"Harry?" there was a timid knock on the Gryffindor door, and Harry heard Draco outside ignoring the offended squawks of the Fat Lady. "Look..." the raven-haired boy could practically feel the blonde trying to repress his pride, knowing that he didn't want to lose the hesitant friendship that they finally shared. "...I'm sorry if I offended you. You don't really mean it, do you?" 

The Gryffindor swallowed thickly. He had regretted what he said the moment that the words came out, but his pride and anger wouldn't allow him to admit it aloud. He knew that it wasn't Draco's fault that the blonde didn't understand; only that Draco had tried to correct a situation that was way over his head. It wasn't the blonde boy's fault, as it was Harry who blew up. 

But he was still too angry to speak. 

"Harry?" the voice was becoming more irritated. "Cant you at least tell me what I did wrong?" 

The dark-haired boy exhaled openly through his mouth, trying hard to keep back his anger. It wasn't Dracos fault, he kept telling himself. It was his own fault for flying off the handle so easily. But... it was really hard to muster up the courage to admit it aloud. 

Unfortunately, a Malfoy's pride stung more than a Potter's, because Harry could hear a distinctly hurt snort from the other side of the portriet door. "Fine. If you don't feel like telling me, I'll just let you alone, then. It's more than obvious that you don't want to talk to me." 

Harry felt a surge of panic despite his vehement reluctance to speak with anyone at the moment. It was easy to see that if he didn't respond right now before the Slytherin could leave, then they would loose the fragile friendship they had somehow formed that year. 

So, naturally, he was prompted to speak... although it wasn't exactly what he meant to say. 

"Fine then, you prat! Just leave me here... it's all your fault that _you_ can't seem to put the effort into understanding me!"

_Ehh..._ But Harry's hurt pushed through the confusion and the small voice in the back of the head telling him that he was just making an idiot out of himself, and Draco would never speak to him again after this...

"You're the only person I've spoken to about this in such detail," Harry kept ranting, unable from stopping himself and pounding his fists against the door, imagining it was his rival. "And after I tell you everything, you look at me like I'm an stupid. Like everything I've been through in my life is so _trivial_ that you can't bother yourself to even consider how I feel!"

What he was saying was barely making any sense, as the dark-haired boy was trying his best to get his furious feelings out that he skipped out on coherent thought. Surprisingly, there was not much of a response from the other side of the wall. Either Draco had already left or he was really listening to Harry this time.

"I hate how you can't even bring yourself to understand!" Harry continued shouting, not caring if anyone else heard him. "I hate you for having parents and not knowing how much it _hurts_... I hate that you're so pampered and safe that you can't concieve of the idea of me not wanting to go back home! I hate you for having that bloody attitude.... like, like everyone just too _beneath_ you for you to notice them and listen to them once in a while." 

Harry broke off as he quickly ran out of steam, realizing how childish he was being. He didn't want to think about how most of what he said wasn't Draco's fault, or that he really didn't want to yell anymore. Now he just felt tired. More tired than he could remember feeling for a long time... he wanted nothing more than to just fall onto the floor and stay there, not sleeping but not moving nor talking either. 

He closed his vibrant eyes and leaned his forehead against the abused door, letting his slight weight rest completely against the wall. This was ridiculous. He was talking to Draco Malfoy, after all. He should never have expected the blonde boy to understand. 

There was the quiet sound of shuffling feet on the other side, eliminating the idea that the Slytherin had left while Harry had been ranting. The shuffling stopped after but a moment, and the Gryffindor could hear from the other side: 

"But... you don't _hate_ me, right?" 

The voice was much too childish for that for a sixteen year old. There was too much confusion and self-doubt in that sentence for Harry to make out, especially when he couldn't make out all of his own feelings.

"No." He said quietly. "I don't hate you."

And surprisingly, he didn't. It wasn't Draco's fault that the blonde could not understand. Draco had been raised in a priviladged family, despite the deep resentment the Slytherin felt at times when he was denied his own choices because of his social standing. And it was Harry's own fault that things had gotten out of control in the first place. 

Harry breathed out a deep sigh and then pushed himself away from the door, opening it slowly to see Draco on the other side, looking slightly nervous about being near the Gryffindor rooms. The blonde boy was glancing around every few seconds, determined not to be caught by anyone other than Harry so close to the Gryffindor common room. 

Harry felt too tired to apologize, but seeing the silent anger in Draco's eyes at being yelled at for absolutely no reason, he knew that he would have to.

"I'm sorry." The green-eyed boy said. "I was just angry. You didn't deserve to be yelled at."

It was true. Draco shouldn't have stayed. He shouldn't have stuck around after Harry got mad, seeing as he wasn't the type to take being the scapegoat. It was usually Harry that stood shock still when someone ranted at him, but Draco had never been the one to stick around after someone got angry. 

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." 

It was as if Draco had read Harry's mind and answered the question of why he had stayed. Grey eyes surveyed the Gryffindor, and then deemed him to be stable at the moment. Two hands reached out to adjust Harry's glasses, making green eyes widen considerably. 

"After all," Draco continued, quite nonchalant. "If I'm going to pursue someone, I'd like to know they're right in the head." 

"P-pursue?" 

"Yes." Draco smiled. "You might not think that I understand you now. But I will. I'll learn everything about you in time. That way, you can't say I don't understand anymore." He leaned in close. "Sweet dreams, Harry. Don't forget that we have Double Potions together tomorrow." 

Satisfied when Harry could only gape at him, Draco turned and walked away, a smile sneaking up on his face. He had worried for a moment that Harry really did hate him, and all his plans would fail... but that didn't seem a problem now.

  
  


Harry took a small break to sit back and stretch as he heard Hermione recast the Heating Charm in the room which they were doing their research. It had only been two days after their Christmas shopping, and the three of them had been contacting other researchers and requesting information at just about every hour of the day. Christmas was creeping up on them, but the brightness and cheerfulness of the snow and season outside didn't seem to penetrate into the small house in which they resided. 

Although Harry was weary from their lack of success to find anything useful, it was obvious that both Draco and Hermione were worse off. Hermione's eyes were drooping most of the time, and she grimaced from time to time as if suffering a horrible headache. Draco was even worse off, opening rubbing his forehead almost constantly, and needing batches of painkilling potions to be sent to him from the Ministry. His temper was more than frayed as Harry continuously tried to make Draco rest. 

"I don't need any more _rest_," Draco would grumble. "I need something to do. I need to help as much as possible and find the counter-curse for this. I promised you forever, didn't I?" 

And Harry was hard-pressed to disagree, knowing that all the help available was needed. He knew that Draco worked so hard and so consistently not only because of himself, but because the blonde ex-Slytherin was deadly scared that Harry would be sick too, or that either one of them would die and the leave the other. It was a possibility neither of them wanted to think about currently. 

It was just that information was so hard to find, and it was even harder to discern fact from fiction. A lot of past wizards enjoyed writing their findings into one glorious story, and Harry was skeptical as to what really happened. It was like looking into thousands of tomes of self-proclaimed Gilderoy Lockhearts, and Harry twitched whenever he thought about having to go through another book. 

The dark-haired boy pushed up his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose, irritated with how a headache was already coming on. It was morning still, but he had been up since dawn when a Ministry owl had nearly destroyed the window outside his and Draco's room. The ex-Slytherin barely twitched in his sleep, whereas Harry couldn't stand the noise outside. 

At least Draco got the extra sleep. Harry waved a hand vaguely to renew the table light. The dim winter light that filtered through the windows wasn't enough to read by, and the teenager had discovered that it was easy to renew the _lumos_ charm. At first he had feared that just the simple act of keeping up the first-year spell for long periods of time would tire him out, but Harry found that it barely took anything out of him at all. And it was good practice for him to do wandless magic. 

All in all, he hadn't had much chances to experiment with his magic. They had found his wand again and had given it back to him, but the phoenix feather that had been the core had burned out. Harry didn't know what to think about it, so instead chalked it up to it not being able to withstand the force of the last battle with Voldemort. Wandless magic was harder than he had originally thought. It wasn't that the magic was not obeying him… almost the opposite, in fact. Harry didn't tire with wandless magic as most people predicted. He found it easy to find the magic within himself that provided for his spells, but had a hard time manipulating it and twisting it so that it came out the way he wanted it to. 

It was something that he wanted to talk to Hermione about. The girl (or rather, young woman. They had all been through too much to really be children anymore.) had been badgering him about it. 

Getting up from the cushions that lined up his chair, Harry gave a full body stretch, groaning slightly as he heard several joints pop back into place. He was careful not to knock over his books and notes, since he really didn't want to organize them again. 

"That's disgusting." Came the comment from the other side of the room. 

Harry grinned, and turned his neck to look at Hermione, whom had been distracted by his antics. "Don't tell me it never happens to you, with all the studying you do." 

The girl had already buried herself back in another book, but quirked her lips when Harry talked. "Of course it doesn't happen. I just use a spell to make sure that my muscles are relaxed before I start." 

He blinked. "You mean there's a spell for long-term studying?" 

"Don't sound so surprised! I'd have developed scoliosis by third year without that spell." 

No wonder Hermione never complained of back pains like he and Ron had all through the school years. It was almost funny, really. How come he had never thought of something like that? "Where'd you learn a spell like that?" 

Hermione finally looked up at him, grinning mischievously. "It's a long held secret of the Ravenclaws. They teach it to their first years- it's the first spell that they learn, even before the teachers start teaching spells in classes. I just happened to have overheard it, that's all." 

Harry sat back down, feeling much more comfortable now that he had stretched. "Why do I have a feeling you're not going to tell me this spell." 

"I can't. Swore on a Ravenclaw's honor never to tell." 

"But you're not a Ravenclaw!" 

"Doesn't matter." Hermione laughed. "But I suppose I can perform it on you." With a few muttered words and a wave of her wand, Harry felt that he was about to melt into his seat. 

"I should have asked to be sorted into Ravenclaw." Harry muttered briefly as his muscles finally started to relax for the first time in days. "If they teach you spells like this, no wonder they had no problem studying…" 

"I don't think you would have ever made it into Ravenclaw, Harry. Both you and Ron certainly acted as if you were allergic to learning." 

"Maybe it was all an act." Harry hinted. 

"Maybe the both of you were just too lazy to do well in classes." 

Harry pouted. "Speaking of Ron, what was in his letter to you, anyway?" And why didn't he get a letter as well? 

Hermione finally put down the thick tome she had been browsing through, looking quite put out. "It was just him writing letters for Mrs. Weasley. She wants all of us to visit the Burrow for Christmas, seeing as there's only so many of us left now. That poor woman… to be losing her children like that…" 

"How come she didn't write it to us herself?" Harry questioned, not wanting Hermione to go off on a tangent. 

"She's sick. Just like the rest of us, only she's doing worse. It could be because she's further along then everyone else, or just because the loss of family members has hit her too hard." Hermione shook her head sadly. "Either way, Ron was really upset in his letter. He's been taking care of the rest of his family, but… I don't think he should be out of bed himself." 

The way she said it made it sound like the common flu that everyone had. Harry couldn't fathom how she was dealing with the idea that everyone was sick… or that this sickness led to death. 

"Don't worry." He said softly, not sure if he should be mentioning this at all. "We'll find a cure. I promise." 

Hermione looked at him blankly, and for a moment, Harry was almost scared to think that she had not seen him at all- only the wall which was behind him. She looked too pale and tired at that moment, and Harry could just see that she wasn't feeling too well either. He could almost feel the headache which strained at her thoughts, and the dull ache in her joints that persisted even after she had rested. There was an uncomfortable pull in his mind that hinted at a phantom pain- like the feeling of a missing limb. 

He shifted uncomfortably. 

Hermione finally snapped out of it and gave a tired smile. "You shouldn't promise things like that, Harry. Some people might take it the wrong way." She hesitated. "Although I do believe you. We'll find a cure." 

  
  


Harry toyed with his empty wand for a bit as he leaned his face against a warm palm. Hermione had finally kicked him out of the room when he just couldn't sit still. So he settled to sit in his own room and watch Draco sleep for a bit, trying to distract himself from thinking. It hadn't taken long before he started shifting around again, not knowing what to do but at the same time not wanting to wake Draco. The other boy hadn't too many opportunities to rest lately. 

He wondered how much magic he could do without waking Draco up, and quietly uttered a spell to conjure up water. For some reason, he had a continued fondness of the element that would lead up to him playing around with it unnecessarily. Water had been one thing that would never require a spell from him, instead molding itself to his thoughts so that he could change its shape with a flick of his fingers. 

It was gravity defying, that's what it was. The pretty droplets of glistening liquid, sparkling even in the dim lighting, hurried about to obey Harry's every thought. It stretched and molded itself, giving the raven haired boy something to concentrate on, leaving the rest of his thoughts blissfully blank. 

Was that considered wandless magic? Harry wondered, trying to remember if the Elementals had required wands when working with the element of their choice. Did elemental magic come as easily to others as it did to him? Or did they have to use a wand to wield the elements as well? 

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, Harry finally noticed Draco watching him with amused eyes, lips in a quirk of a smile, and unmoving so not to disturb him. 

"You're awake." 

The liquid which had been hovering and wavering in the air above them disappeared suddenly as Harry's attention was turned elsewhere. Draco only blinked once at the unspoken banishing charm that Harry must have used, before allowing a strange look to appear on his face. "You just can't keep quiet when you're bored, Harry." 

Harry grinned. "I can so. You're just a light sleeper, that's all." 

"A light sleeper? I recall when you've said otherwise." 

"Trying to wake you after History of Magic does not count." Harry replied dryly. "Especially when Gryffindors and Slytherins had just about every class together in sixth year." 

Draco gazed at him intently. "I'm glad we did, though." 

Yes. He was glad as well. It was because of that reason that the two of them had gotten to be friends. Because even if there was nothing they had in common at that time, they still had the same class assignments. Being partnered up in various classes helped that tremendously. 

Harry smirked in remembrance. "I hated the teachers for always putting the two of us together. Even though we could talk to each other civilly by then, I hated that I would never be paired with other Gryffindors." 

Draco grinned. "I loved it." 

"Oh, yes. Your stupid plans to foil me at every turn." Harry was smiling despite his negative words. "Didn't exactly work, did it?" 

The dim lighting in the room made it easy for Draco to catch Harry off guard, easy for the blonde boy to yank him from the chair in which he had been comfortably seated, to falling perpendicular on the bed, hands scrambling for balance before the green eyed boy could crush Draco with his slight weight. 

Harry yelped when Draco sat up, bringing to two nose to nose. 

"It worked well enough." Was Draco's amused response. "I had you exactly where I wanted you. I still do." 

They stayed in that position for a few minutes, not daring to move for fear of breaking that close moment. Finally, Harry raised a hand to brush the stray hairs out of Draco's eyes, and he smiled. "Are you sure that it's not the other way around? That _I_ have _you_ where I want you?" 

"It might go both ways." Draco admitted with a grin. "What were you doing before conveniently falling into my lap, anyway?" He shifted to get into a more comfortable position, sitting up while Harry reluctantly moved to seat himself at the edge of the bed. 

Conveniently _falling into your lap? Pssst…_

"Practicing." Harry replied, watching as Draco stretched and leaned one way to grab for the clothes lying upon the back of the chair that Harry had recently occupied. 

"Elemental magic?" Draco merely glanced at Harry as he swung his legs out of bed. "What for?" 

Harry shrugged. "It somehow seems easier now." 

It was true. Elemental magic (and all magic in general) had been hard on Harry ever since he first learned it. While he was supposed to be more powerful than most wizards, Harry was the one in class having the hardest time. Sure, he could learn spells when it really mattered- like the _Patronus_ charm in third year- Harry learned things faster than average when he really needed to. Other than that, he had an extremely hard time learning. 

But that was no secret. It had taken him months just to learn _Accio_, after all. 

"Maybe you're finally understanding magic with all the magical theory we've been going through." Draco suggested, changing out of his sleeping shirt and putting on his usual dress shirt. "Just like with your Potions lessons." 

Draco had been teamed up with Harry in sixth year for a Potions project involving the research and making of an extremely complicated potion. With Harry struggling as he was in that class (he wouldn't have even gotten into the Advanced Potions class without the intervention of his Head of House- much to the despair of Professor Snape), Draco had to take over most of the project. It was during their studying time that the Slytherin realized the reason that Harry was struggling so was because Harry didn't know the basics of Potion theory. 

"No, I don't think it's that." Harry said. "Hermione drilled Magical Theory into my head by third year. If that were the case, then I wouldn't have any problem at all during school." 

"Really?" Draco was now intrigued. "Show me." 

Seeing Draco still half-dressed, but leaning over the bed towards him, Harry had to squash down the mischievous thought about showing Draco other things- like maybe a passionate kiss. He swallowed thickly and nodded, completely forgetting that he had dropped his wand earlier when he blonde had woken up. Draco only looked amused at his response, and quirked a grin to tell Harry he knew what the other boy was thinking. 

With a quick wave of Harry's hand, he conjured up the same floating liquid that he had been playing with previously, the malleable shape glittering above their heads in greeting. It changed different shapes with each flick of Harry's finger. 

Remembering the conversation that he had with Dumbledore of the alternate universe, Harry tried something a little different. 

Another wave of the hand brought a ring of fire to surround the pulsating liquid form, and changed the liquid into a spherical shape. Harry fought with a grin as he tilted the fire slightly to make it look like a liquid planet surrounded by a ring of flames. He caught the slight intake of breath from behind him, but was too absorbed in this new discovery to really notice. 

This time, he didn't even have to wave his hand to bring into existence another ring of flames, intercepting the other ring like an X. Making sure that it all rotated in the same direction, Harry let slip his grin and finally looked over his shoulders to see an astonished Draco. 

"_Two_ elements?" Draco asked, his voice quite choked up. 

"Dumbledore talked something about that." Harry tried to explain. "In fifth year, he said something about my connection with Voldemort making it harder for me to learn water magic. And then, when I was transported to the other universe, I remember how to two elements somehow combined. I figured that maybe if I absorbed some of Voldemort's powers when he attacked me as a baby, maybe I got his elemental power over fire when he died." 

Draco swallowed heavily. "Someone with control over two elements is unheard of…" 

"I know that." Harry scowled, although the dark expression was not aimed at the blonde. He hadn't felt uncomfortable about it before Draco had spoken it, because Harry had always been the exception to things. But now that he thought about it, having control over two elements only served to make him even more strange than he already was. 

Feeling before actually seeing Harry's discomfort, Draco softened his expression into a relaxed grin. "But then, the Golden Boy is always more talented than the average wizard, isn't he?" 

Harry only rolled his eyes. Draco's sarcasm wasn't lost on him, and he appreciated the effort, he really did. It was just… 

The green eyed boy glanced over to the still hovering elements, and with a thought, the two combined together. Instead of disappearing as the two contrasting elements hit each other, the molded perfectly, making the liquid sphere a beautiful reddish-gold color and lighting up the entire room with its glow. The surface of the globe looked smooth as flames, even flickering once in a while to dare someone to touch it. The dark haired boy reach up to coax the sphere down, and it settled an inch from the palm of his hand. 

"What is that?" 

Harry stared at the sphere for a little while longer before looking up into Draco's curious eyes. "That's what I would like to know as well." 

  
  


"I think there's something very strange going on here." 

Hermione looked up from the book that she was flipping through, blinking to adjust her eyes to the bright fire. It took her a moment to get used to the tired visage in the fire, and she set her jaw determinedly. "It doesn't matter if it's strange, Ron. All that matters at the moment is finding out what this means." 

"The Ministry is utter crap, 'Mione." Came the tired response from a frustrated redhead in the fire. "Bollocks to what they say. I personally think that there's someone under You-Know-Who's command that's feeding all this information. Using muggle instruments for magic? It sounds more like something that Dad would do." 

"Your dad was a smart man." 

Ron's face remained stony. "I think it's faked. You can't measure magic with muggle devices. Magic can only be measured with magical devices! Muggle things can't detect magic." 

"Don't be obscure. That's like asking whether the chicken or the egg came first." 

Ron was taken aback. "That what?" 

"The chicken or the egg- oh, it's a muggle expression. But if magic could only be measured by magical devices, then how did they figure out the magic to create magical devices in the first place?" Hermione didn't really want to argue with her best friend, but Ron was just being a complete git at the moment. Considering that he had Arthur Weasley as a father, she would have thought him to be more accepting of the new practices coming up. 

Ron didn't look convinced. 

"Look." Hermione finally relented. "The blood tests are coming back soon, anyway. And I know that Harry wanted to check it out just in case. You never know if You-Know-Who used a spell that just might be detected with muggle instruments. Maybe Harry was right and it is some type of poison. Then it would certainly be easier to combat." 

His expression darkened. "I guess so." 

"And why are you not talking to Harry, anyway?" She huffed out an irritated breath. "You know how he gets when he thinks that he did something wrong- it's impossible to get anything done around him when he gets antsy like that. I would have thought you'd be extremely pleased with him appearing. You were certainly grieving enough for him when he disappeared." 

Ron looked down from the fire-call. He seemed slightly guilty, and abashed. 

"Don't say that you're giving him time to adjust back here." Hermione continued. "Because I know you, Ron Weasley, and you would have just charged to him the moment he woke up demanding answers and reassurances. But you didn't." 

Ron rubbed a tired palm on his jaw. "I couldn't." 

"And why not?" She asked. 

The redhead seemed to hesitate before speaking. "I… I promised Harry before the last battle. Right before we had to go for the all-out attack on the Dark Lord's forces. It was a stupid promise to make, really, but he looked as if he didn't believe we would win. I told him that everything would be okay again. Not that we would win the fight, but that everything would be fine. That's what I thought would happen then, I guess. Either that we would win and rebuild the wizarding world, or that we would all die together and not have to worry about it." 

Hermione looked slightly sad at that. 

"I never thought that this curse would happen. I guess I just feel bad. I can't face him until I know that what I promised… that everything was going to be alright again, would come true. I know that it seems wrong to avoid him, but I could tell… He _believed_ me then, 'Mione. And I don't want to let him down." The last two sentences were said with a fervor that gave Hermione pause when she thought of yelling at him. 

"But you're going to have to talk to him sooner or later." She pressed. 

Ron winced. "I know. I'll talk to him when this is all sorted out." 

  
  


End chapter 4

  
  


**Authoress' Rambles:** Lookie! Ron's here! Way, way sorry for the long time it took for this chapter to come out! But now there's two mysteries. ^_~ What were Ron and Hermione talking about? And what's so different about Harry's powers? I am in desperate need to write a humor story. *twitches* Angst and romantic fluff just hasn't been sitting well with me lately. So sorry once again for the long wait, especially when I said that this chapter would be out _soon_. ^^;; But I'm finally through with the distractions- (*hands get slapped away from the _Pirates of the Carribean_ DVD*) and back on track with this story! ^_^ A thousand thanks to people who kept believing in this story! It will be _finished_ for you! ^_~

All repsonses to all reviews are in the previous author's note section, since I figured you might want more of this story than the notes. LOL

  
  



	6. Theories and Discoveries

Disclaimers: The characters do not belong to me, no matter how hard I wish. *sighs* To actually own Harry and Draco... XDDD Well, that would be the day, wouldn't it? Arrg!! *wishes very, very hard*

Definately AU. Slash! You should know that by now. Plenty of angst factor, and fluffy romance. Continued from _Into the Cold Fire_- Harry returns home to a world different from that which he left. The wizarding world is falling apart due to Voldemort's last curse, and the people he love is dying. Can he find a counter-curse before everything is lost?

  


**Vigilae Mortuorum**  
Chapter 5: Theories and Discoveries  
Shamera

_Lost in a dying world I reach for something more,  
I have grown so weary of this lie I live.  
I've woken now to find myself  
in the shadows of all I have created  
I'm longing to be lost in you...  
(away from this place I have made)  
Won't you take me away from me?_  
-Evanescence, "Away From Me" 

  
  
It was the next day before Draco could convince Harry to let Hermione examine his elemental skills. The ex-Gryffindor boy had been most reluctant about showing his increased magic to anyone but Draco, but had made an exception for Hermione when she basically threatened to strangle him if he continued to be so difficult. The three of them had settled down into the back room that was usually used for flooing or intercepting things from the Ministry. 

Draco had drawn the curtains over the windows so that there would be no one looking in, as he could tell Harry was nervous enough just showing his magic to one more person. Hermione had laid out several anti-spying spells, and had cast a reinforced silencing spell to ensure that no one would 'accidentally' overhear. 

"You've never told me that you could control two elements." Hermione was saying, lighting up a candle so that it wouldn't be pitch dark in the room. Her voice held nothing but curiosity, for which Harry was very glad. He didn't know if he could have handled Hermione being mad at him for holding back information. 

"Well, it's a recent discovery." Harry replied quite dryly. He was nervously playing around with his wand, knowing all too well that the wand wouldn't be able to help him without its phoenix core. It was quite a nervous habit, but the dark haired boy figured that he had gotten too used to using the fake wand in the other universe, and that he was more used to the wand motions even though his magic at the moment was completely wandless. 

"But that's still not too surprising." Hermione comment, making the other two boys in the room blink at her with surprise. "I mean, you've always been exceptional, Harry, despite not doing too well in classes." 

Harry wrinkled his nose. "Quite a compliment, Miss Granger." 

Draco rolled his eyes, having just returned to his seat next to Harry. "Well, it's true that you haven't been the best of students…" 

"What is this?" Harry grumbled, leaning against the armrests of the chair. "'Pick on Harry' day?" 

"Isn't that everyday?" Draco asked with amusement. 

Hermione settled herself into her chair quite comfortably while the two boys exchanged barbs back and forth. She had a small smile despite herself, knowing that it had been awhile before the two of them had playfully insulted each other like that. It had been the two of them against the world the last few years, and they hadn't had the time nor strength to exchange such banter with each other. 

"I thought you wanted to show me something?" Hermione asked cheekily after a few minutes of relaxing and watching the two boys bickering with each other for a while. She saw Harry draw back slightly with embarrassment, and Draco grin at the light blush that soon covered Harry's cheeks. 

"Yes." The raven-haired boy said. "I discovered this yesterday, when I was showing Draco the elements… it seems that the two elements just sort of… combined, I guess. It was different than either one that I originally had." 

"Two elements… combined? Like… creating a new element?" 

Harry shrugged. "I'm not too sure. It certainly doesn't look like any element that I've ever seen. And if I remember correctly, I think it might have been what sent me to the other dimension in the first place." 

Upon hearing that piece of information, Draco tensed where he had been sitting, looking like he was ready to protest to Harry giving Hermione a demonstration if there was the risk that the dark haired boy would sudden by transported off somewhere where they might not be able to reach him again. Even Hermione tensed slightly, not knowing whether she now wanted to know, despite the gnawing curiosity in the back of her mind. She could always do with an explanation rather than a missing best friend. 

"Or at least," Harry continued cautiously, noting his friends' discomfort. "it was a part of it. The other part had been a magical item that had been activated simultaneously in the other universe. But I have that item with me now, so it won't be activated again." 

Hermione swallowed thickly, forcing herself to steady as Harry looked at her with worry evident in his large green eyes. She nodded a reassurance to him, also telling him with that gesture that she wanted to see what he was talking about. 

Harry smiled weakly, before lifting both hands to his lips and blowing a breath out, lighting up a blue flame that hovered barely an inch above his palm. Another breath and there was a layer of glistening liquid that appeared around the flames, surrounding it in a globe of water. 

Hermione couldn't help a wave of awe that came over her with the sight of those two elements, so different in nature and yet so similar… both obeying Harry's commands and coexisting like they belonged together. Was this what Harry had wanted her to see? But it didn't seem so… _mythical_ now that she saw it. In fact, it looked quite peaceful, and although she knew it didn't exist together in nature, the fire and water looked to have belonged together. 

"Is this it?" she asked tentatively. "Is this the new element?" 

Draco quirked a grin at her from where he was sitting to her left. "That's just the beginning, Granger. You're just looking at the two elements that Harry can control." 

Oh. Well, she felt faintly humiliated to not have realized that. Of course it was something a lot more special than that. 

Harry smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, 'Mione. Even though Draco talks big, he didn't know when he first saw it either." 

There was a noise of protest coming from Draco's direction, but it was immediately halted when Harry used his powers to merge both the water element and the fire element together, creating something that Hermione had never seen in her life. 

It was beautiful. 

The entire room was lit with the reddish-gold color, flickering like the reflection of water against a wall. The brown-haired ex-Gryffindor protégé sucked in a sharp breath, unconsciously reaching out a hand to touch the glowing sphere, only drawing back at the last moment when she came to her senses, and looked at her best friend sharply. But Harry's eyes were focused on the glowing globe as well, as if concentrating on making sure that they stayed together and not fall apart within a moment's time. 

"I think it's alright to touch it." Harry informed her distractedly. "It might feel a little… strange, though." 

Hermione extended her hand again, her fingers hovering millimeters above the surface of the globe. Taking a deep breath, she finally dared to touch to glowing surface, fully expecting to be burned by the fire inside. But she was pleasantly shocked when her fingers went through a silky coldness, the feeling and texture of what she imagined fire would feel like (softer than silk on the skin) and the shocking coldness of water in a fresh brook. 

There was a sticky residue on her fingers when she pulled them back out, one that continued glowing and rained from her skin like water from the sky. 

"What… is this?" she breathed quietly, not wanting to disturb the reverent silence that seemed to pervade the room. 

"That's what we were hoping you would be able to tell us." Draco commented from the side. 

Harry willed the elements to disappear, and watched as the substance on Hermione's fingers faded. "I don't think it's natural… and I don't know if it has a purpose or not… but it certainly is very strange." 

Hermione remained staring at her clean fingers for a moment, touching the skin together to confirm that the gel-like substance really was gone. "It didn't just feel strange," she commented softly. "It felt… very different. I don't know how to explain it, but it almost felt like I was touching something… _somewhere else_." 

"Somewhere else?" Draco echoed. 

Hermione tried to clear her thoughts. "You said that it was this element that pulled you into the alternate dimension last time, right, Harry?" 

The dark haired boy appeared baffled. "Well… it played a part. But it was my mother's talisman that actually pulled me there…" 

"Maybe your mother's talisman _did_ pull you there." Hermione reassured him, taking note of the confusion on the two boys' faces. "But this element… there something very strange about it. When I touched it… it felt like I was feeling infinite, open space." She pursed her lips. "I really don't know how to phrase this." 

"You think that this new element of Harry's can actually open the idea of alternate universes?" Draco questioned, comprehension starting to dawn on him. "It was this element that opened up the pathway to where Harry was pulled, and it was his mother's talisman that actually pulled him there." 

Harry blanched. "That's… a very far-fetched idea, Hermione." 

"It could have been something like that." Hermione admitted. "I'm not sure if you'd be able to follow my train of thought. I'm not too sure that I follow it myself, except for the fact that you, Harry, have always taught me to trust my instincts." 

She took a moment to consider what she was saying, her hands wrung together as the only outlet of her frustration at her inability to explain what she just _knew_. "I was thinking about how elemental powers… wind, water, earth, and fire… they all have the ability to wear things away. Wooden structures destroyed by fires, large canyons started by tiny streams, movements of the earth separating all the continents, and even steel giving in and rusting under the persistence of the wind. All the elements erode and destroy each other, but there's one thing that's _not_ an element which is persistent in all areas of erosion which could not be connected. Can either of you guess what it is?" 

Draco shook his head, while Harry blinked for a moment- trying to recall his muggle science classes. 

"Rust… canyons… plate tectonics… fires…." Harry's brow furrowed as he remembered those old days when he was mercilessly teased by the other children. The most important factor which can destroy anything… 

The green-eyed boy blinked several times. "Time." He concluded. "Nothing can be destroyed without time." 

Hermione nodded, started to get excited now that she was on the verge of something big. "Yes… but that doesn't make sense, does it? All the elements can destroy… but at the same time, it would be destroyed by its fellow elements. But time isn't an element. It can't be destroyed." Hermione was now sitting on the edge of her seat, eyes wide and gleaming with something that Harry hadn't seen since Hogwarts and before the war began. 

"I studied up on the theories behind time-turners in third year." She informed them, her face growing pensive. "It was amazing how magic can coincide with muggle scientific theories. It's almost as if magic is an advanced form of technology that would always remain elusive to muggles. Since you might not understand this, Draco…" she turned to her best friend. "What do you know about quantum physics, Harry?" 

Harry's mind was spinning. Hermione was right. He certainly didn't understand how her thought process jumped from one thing to another. He understood her half-explained idea of elements… but what did that have to do with muggle science? 

"Ehh… isn't it what allowed us to have desktop computers? Something about small computers…" 

"Not that." She brushed that topic aside. "I'm sure you've read science fiction stories as a child. There are so many stories nowadays about the theories of quantum physics…" 

"Is it the idea of time travel?" Draco asked from where he was sitting. "The idea that every point in the universe… or multi-verse, is connected to each other and is equal distance from each other?" he was frowning. "It was that idea which spawned the idea for instant transportation." 

The other two in the room gaped at him. 

Draco sniffed. "What? I can read as well. Books aren't limited to muggles, you know." 

Hermione rubbed her forehead. "You're right. I just… didn't expect you to know that." She pushed her fingers through her tangled hair. "But I remember reading… that it was how apparation works, as well as time turners. The muggles came up with theories for instantaneous travel, and the idea that there were an infinite number of universes in which each universe is slightly different from the one that we live in. One universe where the wizard-like never went into hiding from the muggles… one where the Second Great War was won by Hitler, one where Harry might not have won against Voldemort… or even one where I forgot to brush my teeth this morning." She scowled, as if she was trying to comprehend the entire idea. 

"Or… a universe where Voldemort never targeted my parents… so they lived and I died as a child after being kidnapped by Death Eaters." Harry provided quietly. His eyes were slightly dazed with memories. 

The bushy haired ex-Gryffindor nodded. "Yes. That provides the thought for alternate universes. But there's one theory that the muggles haven't discovered yet. They think that time travel would mean going to another universe rather than going back in time. It would just be a universe in which time traveled a few seconds, or years, slower than their present universe. Anything they did in that universe would not affect the universe in which they lived, because it was, in fact, somewhere else." She gave a faint smile. "They're a little too logical to understand it, I guess. 

"The idea behind time-turners has the basic idea of quantum physics behind it, only it applied the knowledge that not only was everyplace connected and equidistant from each other… but time was the same time. Every second and moment is connected with the same dots that connect an area. Whereas quantum physics theorize that the distance between me and the two of you is the same distance between here and Jupiter, time-turners take it to another level when it connects the moment that you flip it to the moment you end up in." 

Harry was starting to understand what Hermione meant with time-turners, but… "What does time-turners have to do with elemental magic?" 

"That's just the thing." Hermione beamed, despite the fact that things only made sense to her at the moment. "Time-turners were never perfected. There was always something missing, because you had to keep turning to get to when you wanted. When you connect the idea of time-turners with the relationship between elements and time… it almost makes sense." 

This was making Harry's head hurt, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses with a grimace. 

"Magic has always been more advanced than anything muggles invent." Hermione continued in her explanation, making the two boys' wonder at how many things could go on inside her mind at one time. "But the connection between the elements and time… the missing thing that would perfect time-turners… it's a farfetched idea, but it's just so very _possible_…" 

She hesitated for a moment, her hands forming shapes before her in a vain attempt to visually demonstrate what was in her head to the other two. "I don't think that you created a new element, Harry. Elemental magic is so basic that it's one of the fundamentals of this world. If you created something new… it would be like playing God- and excuse me for saying this, Harry… but I don't think you're _that_ powerful. 

"Instead, I think you discovered something that's been hidden from everyone else. With all the magic and technology that we have, we've never had the _element_ that would allow us to break through to another universe. Even magic could only stay within our universe, even though we could travel through time. There was nothing powerful enough to break through the barrier between the universes or erode time. But if you think of _time_ as an element as well, one that could be manipulated by concentrated magic just as elemental mages could manipulate the earth, wind, water, and fire… then maybe instead of _four_ elements… there might be _six_." 

Draco was the one who looked shocked, while Harry was still muddled with confusion. "That's… a very significant discovery, 'Mione." 

"Yes- but think about it! The number four has rarely held significance. Only in a few religions did '4' become a holy number. That's why people always add one more to it- because we can relate with five. We can relate with three, we can relate with five. The Holy Trinity in Christian religion, the five pointed pentacle in Wiccan religion… we can also relate with six. I don't remember my history very well, but six was a Holy number a long, long time ago. It would make sense that the elements could actually amount to _six_." 

Poor Harry, he grew even more confused. He had only been starting to grasp on what Hermione was saying with elements and time, why did she have to include numbers and religion as well? 

"Then you're saying that there have always been six elements, and we classified the entire system wrong." Draco sounded like he understood what Hermione was saying. "Wind, water, fire, earth, time… and the element that Harry can control." 

"Yes! We only classified four elements because we couldn't see the last two! It was a miracle we classified 'air' as well!" 

"Then how come no one's seen this element before?" Harry questioned. "We've had elementals before, of every element we knew. There are even those people who could control time to a small degree. How come there's no one who's seen this element before, then?" 

"Maybe because we've never been able to combine fire and water." Hermione suggested. "Every time someone tries, they cancel each other out. Maybe this new element is just the combination of the two elements that are the most obvious." 

"And what does that do?" Harry continued to ask, his voice holding a slightly higher pitch as frustration at his lack to understand took a hold. "If this really is a 'hidden' element… what does time, and numbers, have to do with that?" 

"If there are six elements," Hermione explained, her mind working at a furious pace. "It would form a complete circle. Wind can control the flow of water, water can change the shape of the earth, earth can be used to put out fires, fires can destroy things created with time, time could destroy your element, Harry, and your element would hold something over the air element." 

"You don't even have an inkling of proof to that, 'Mione." Harry informed her. 

"No, I don't." she agreed pleasantly. "So I might be completely off. In fact, I don't think I'm completely right myself. But I think I'm on the right path." 

"What do you think of what Hermione said?" 

It was nearly sunset, and the sky was tinted with shades of golden red rays tinged with purples and blues. Harry had been staring at the sight for the last few minutes, his hand entwined with Draco's as they walked in the snow while the tiny flakes were still falling lazily from the sky. He was holding his glove in the unoccupied hand, completely bundled up in multiple layers of sweaters and a large overcoat, an old red and gold scarf circling his neck all the way up past his chin. He had forgotten his hat inside, and was constantly irritated by his glasses fogging up, but stopping wiping the lenses after a while, just taking off his spectacles and slipping them into one of the multiple pockets in his overcoat. 

Draco was no less bundled up than Harry was, (and with his Slytherin scarf as well) but he somehow still managed to look elegant and slim while Harry was sure he looked like a deformed and multicolored snowman. The two of them had been walking in circles around the small house, trying to retrace their footsteps after the first round. 

"About the elements, the quantum physic theories, the time stuff, the numbers, or the religion thing?" Harry asked snidely. 

The grip on his hand tightened slightly to show Draco's amusement as the blonde continued walking. "You know what I'm talking about." 

Harry snorted slightly against the cold air, watching his breath come back up. "Everything, then." 

The sun looked wavy over the distant mountains, its fading light shining in streaks in the sky, making their shadows seem long and foreboding. Harry snuck a glance at Draco despite the fact that the blonde was a blurry shape to his without his glasses. He was nearsighted, damn it (although _severely_ so), not colorblind. He could still enjoy the rays of light that were reflected off Draco's white-blond hair. 

"I don't care about all that." Harry admitted. "I mean… sure, that's an amazing discovery, but it doesn't help our situation any. I think after everything's settled again, and then we can ponder over the ideas of alternate universes and how great magic and elements are." 

Harry used his free hand to rub over his cold nose, turning his eyes to watch the growing shadows and despairing to realize that all the other shadows seemed longer than his and Draco's. But even Draco's shadow seemed longer than his. Bloody hell. Where was that growth spurt people kept talking about? If it weren't for the fact that he saw everyone else go through it, Harry might have believed that to be a myth. 

"I think it's amazing." Draco admitted. He smiled tightly and turned to face Harry, catching the dark-haired boy's attention with his movement. His expression was somber as he studied the small boy. But that only lasted for a moment as Draco then broke out into a grin. "And as a Malfoy, I'd only marry an extremely powerful wizard. Adding to the family and all that." 

Harry tried to suppress a smile. "And if I weren't powerful?" 

"Than I wouldn't be able to marry you as a Malfoy." Draco teased. He then leaned his forehead against Harry's, bringing their faces within centimeters of each other. "I'd have to disinherit myself, and then kidnap you and we'd elope." 

Harry chuckled, relishing the contact of their skin and the grainy feel of hair rubbing against his temple. "How romantic." He commented dryly. "I think I'll pass." 

"A big wedding, then?" Draco mused. "I never took you for the type." 

"I never said anything about that." Harry protested. "I'm just not too keen on the idea of eloping, that's all." 

"Oh? Then what if I said I wanted to marry you now?" 

Harry smiled. "You'd have to find someone willing to marry two sixteen year olds first, then. If you find someone… then we'll talk." 

Draco smirked. "I'll hold you to your word, then." 

Harry then noticed a trickle of red. He was close enough to Draco that he didn't even have to squint to see what it was. Green eyes were wide as he said, "Draco, you're bleeding!" 

The ex-Slytherin pulled back immediately, and disconnected their fingers to wipe away at the blood under his nose. But more blood was replaced as soon as he wiped it away. "It's nothing." He stated, trying to wave off Harry's concern. Draco used the sleeve of his overcoat to hold it to his nose as the blood continued to trickle out in a steady pace. 

"Of course it's something!" Harry snapped, trying to bat Draco's arm away so that he could see. "How can you say that it's nothing?" His eyes widened in comprehension. "How long has this been happening? You've been hiding this from me!" 

Draco wiped at his nose one last time, relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped. "I'm fine, Harry. It doesn't hurt or anything." 

Harry set his jaw, suddenly reminded of the awful truth that Draco was _dying_, and that this was perhaps one of the symptoms. "Why did you hide it from me?" He asked shortly. 

Grey eyes gazed searchingly into his own, before Harry was forced to turn his gaze elsewhere, holding back his anger to glare daggers at a nearby fern. He tensed up, not angry at Draco himself but at the fact that this was happening- that this had to happen. 

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this." Draco said softly. 

Harry breathed out a breath through his nose, trying to expel the undirected anger. It just wasn't fair that this had to happen when things were supposed to go smoothly after the war. This was supposed to be the happily ever after that came after the defeat of the villain. 

But things were never that simple, were they? 

Draco must have seen the change in Harry's expression, for the blonde sighed and took another glance at the last rays of the sun, knowing that there was still only a few seconds of daylight left. It would get even colder after the sun was completely gone behind the distant mountains. 

"Come on." He said, tugging on Harry's hand. "Let's go inside." 

Harry followed the other boy numbly, allowing Draco to lead him to the tiny kitchen at sit him down on one of the chairs before rummaging for a pot to make hot chocolate. He watched as the blonde filled the pot with water before setting it on top of the stove, starting up the gas for the fire. He was hit with a pang of sadness as he realized that if not for the war, Draco wouldn't know how to make hot chocolate at all. If it weren't for the war, the people he cared about most wouldn't be dying like this on him. 

A warm hand on his cheek startled Harry out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see sympathetic grey eyes. 

"I know what you're thinking." Draco said, pulling up another chair. He seated himself gingerly, never losing his contact with the green eyed ex-Gryffindor. "And you shouldn't think it. None of this is your fault. The war would have happened with or without you. It would have been much worse without you; since there's no way that we would have won." 

"You can't know that." Harry countered in a small voice as he used both hands to rub his eyes vigorously. He was glad at that moment that his glasses were not in the way, otherwise he would have knocked them over and broken them with his haste to try and rub away the reality of things. "Things could have happened differently." He shook his head sadly, then stated. "I wasn't there in the universe that I fell into… and things were getting on just fine there. Sure, Voldemort was still at the large… but people were content and there wasn't any real danger. The only reason everyone's suffering here is because I'm here. That was the only difference between the two universes..." 

Draco grasped Harry's hands to make sure that he didn't damage his eyes, and the blonde pursed his lips, setting his jaw at a hard angle. Grey eyes looked angrily into weary green ones, and the blonde swallowed hard to make sure that he didn't yell something that he would later regret. He didn't want to fight with Harry… not when they wouldn't have enough time together. 

Once the ex-Slytherin was sure that the other boy would not go for his eyes again, he dropped the slender hands and instead reached to cup both sides of Harry's face, not in a gentle embrace of love- but with a firm resolve and tightness that belayed his underlying emotions. 

"I don't know how many times we've had this conversation." Draco said stiffly, staring Harry straight in the eyes. "But this is. Not. Your. Fault." Draco took a deep breath to calm himself, but didn't let Harry go. "And I swear, if I find you blaming yourself for this _one more time_, I will resort to physical violence and smack you into next Wednesday. And after that, I'll hex you so badly that if doesn't matter if you are an extraordinary wizard and have an absurdly high level of innate magic… you would not be able to leave bed for a month!" 

With that ultimatum delivered, Draco's face softened just a bit, and he searched Harry's face to see if the message got through. He was pleased by the shock evidently displayed by the dark-haired boy, and smirked slightly to defuse some of the tension. "Of course, physical violence is not something I prefer to resort to… especially as if might mess up my appearance. I might just skip to the hexes and keep you in bed for a week straight." His smirk grew slightly leering, reminding Harry of the younger and more arrogant Draco Malfoy from before the war. 

"I…" What was he supposed to say to that? 

Draco was waiting for a response, and it was clear that he would not let Harry go until he was pleased with the answer. 

Harry tried to hide a smile, happy to know that the blonde would still have that Malfoy quality even with all the things and changes he went through. Bringing his hands to cup Draco's face in the same manner that the blonde had captured him, Harry finally let his smile seep through. 

"I'll try." He responded. 

"Miss Hermione Granger?" 

The bushy haired ex-Gryffindor looked up from her work to see an unfamiliar face bobbing gently in the fireplace, expression slightly pensive and lips pulled into a firm line. The girl in the fire looked exhausted, with dark smudges underneath the eyes and a hair that looked like it hadn't been taken care of for ages. 

Hermione put down her quill, wanting to be polite and giving all her attention over to the woman in the fire. "Yes, that's me." She replied confidently, running a hand through her short-chopped hair. "Is there something you needed?" 

The older woman looked slightly relieved to have gotten the right person, making Hermione wonder if the poor lady had been wandering from fireplace to fireplace looking for her. But that wouldn't have been right… it might not be public knowledge where she was staying, but it certainly wasn't a secret either. 

"I'm Dr. Greengrass from St. Mungo's… the test results that you requested yesterday are done, and I was hoping that you would come to St. Mungo's to have a look at them." The lady seemed uncomfortable about something. "The results were… rather… _bizarre_, and though I'm not sure about what you're looking for, several of the original blood samples have already deteriorated to such a level that we haven't been able to salvage any of it." 

Hermione set a blank mask on her face. That was not good. The blood samples that she had taken had come from the cursed wizards and witches, the ones who fought during the second uprising of Voldemort, and then from ordinary muggles. She had a good guess as to which of the samples had deteriorated. 

"Bizarre results?" she asked instead. "Bizarre in what way?" 

Dr. Greengrass drew her brows together. "I think… it's something you have to see for yourself." 

That brought up her curiosity, and Hermione rose from her chair. "I'll be right there." 

End chapter 5

**Authoress' Rambles:** Waii, here's another chapter! ^__^ The explanations at the top are really complicated and somewhat confusing, I know. ^^;; Sorry. I did try to explain the best that I could, so I might have been extremely repetitive and whatnots. Everything's a strange mixture of magic and science. LOL. That's what this entire fic seems to be about. Thanks to everyone who reviewed in the last chapter! *huggles!* This story hasn't been forgotten yet!! And I'm sorry for the long waits, but I _will_ finish this story. And the third one as well. ^^;; I've been working on other stories lately. Is it good enough just to say that despite all the delays, the end will be reached? 


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